Meet the Coaches

Lilla Caton
Head Coach
Coach Lilla Caton began her rowing career with the Nashville Rowing Club where she competed at the Head of the Charles Regatta and USRowing Youth Nationals. She then went on to row at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in engineering management. During her rowing career at UMass, Coach Lilla was medically disqualified due to a significant back injury which sparked her interest in injury prevention and biomechanics within rowing.
In fall of 2022, Lilla began coaching while studying Biomedical Engineering at Penn State. She started as Novice Coach before moving into the Varsity Women's Coach role in the fall of 2023. As Varsity Women's Coach, Lilla led the WV4+ to a 3rd place finish at Dad Vails 2024 and the first ACRA grand final appearance in 5 years where the boat ultimately finished in 5th place. Following the successful conclusion of the season, Lilla took over as Head Coach. Lilla now works with both Varsity men and women, and she is excited to continue sharing her passion for the sport with the team in her role as Head Coach.

Hannah Shorkey
Novice Coach
Hannah Shorkey began her rowing career as a sweep rower for Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI, from 2018-2022. At Grand Valley, Hannah was able to develop her skills, fitness, and love of rowing with the help of her teammates and a strong coaching staff. Hannah sat in stroke seat of the W1V8+ and, despite losing a year and a half of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, secured two ACRA National Championship titles and around 20 other medals for Grand Valley. Hannah then used her extended COVID eligibility to row a fifth year with Penn State Crew as she began law school at Penn State Law.
Hannah began coaching the Novice Men’s and Novice Women’s teams with Penn State Crew in 2023. As Novice Coach, Hannah helped both teams secure multiple podium finishes and, notably, led the MN8+ to a 3rd place finish at Dad Vails in 2024. Now, in her second season as Novice Coach, Hannah works to prioritize team culture and community among the Novice and lay a strong foundation to help the program continue to grow and build.