Antonella Kugler joined the Cardinal in the Fall of 2022 and is now in her fourth year on The Farm. 2025-26 marks her second season as an assistant coach with the women's rowing program after two years as the lightweight rowing program's assistant coach.
The Cardinal women's rowing program regained its spot at the top of the collegiate rowing world in 2025, winning its fourth consecutive conference title, the first as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the program’s third NCAA team title guided by individual national championships from the varsity four and second varsity eight boats. Throughout the 2025 season, the Cardinal boasted a lineup of five CRCA First Team All-Americans in Luise Bachmann, Matilda Drewett, Célia Dupré, Iris Klok, and Honor Warburg, the ACC Crew of the Year in its varsity eight boat, the ACC Newcomer of the Year in Sarah Marriott, the ACC and CRCA Region 3 Coach of the year in head coach Derek Byrnes, and the CRCA Division I Staff of the Year in Alben Family Associate Head Coach Hamrick, Kugler, Maegan Neihart, Molly Milligan, and director of operations Emily Sprigings. In its first appearance at the ACC Championship regatta, Stanford captured all five conference boat titles, becoming the first league school to do so since 2021, and sent five rowers to the All-ACC Teams (First Team: Bachmann, Klok, Dupré, and Warburg; Second Team: Alice Baker).
In 2024, Kugler led the lightweight program to a national title with the varsity four boat and a second-place finish in the team points race at the IRA Championships.
During the 2023 season, Kugler coached the Lightweight Varsity 4+ to winning the WIRA Championship and placing sixth at IRA Championships. Kugler is a USRowing Level 2 Certified Coach.
Before coming to The Farm, Antonella lived in Austin, Texas and coached at Austin Rowing Club for their Master’s Program. Kugler was the assistant coach of ARC's Masters Racing team from February 2022 to July 2022 and was promoted to head coach of the program in July, where she was responsible for building the team's training plan, practice, and regatta schedule. She also helped run Austin Rowing Club's inaugural Summer U23 Racing Team.
Kugler spent her collegiate career competing for Boston University's Lightweight Women’s Rowing program, coxing the Terrier's Varsity Lightweight Four boat to top-three finishes at the IRA Championship regatta in all three of her appearances.
Kugler graduated from Boston University in May 2021 with a Dual Degree in Psychology & Philosophy and Minors in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Applied Human Development.
Kugler grew up in Brookline, Mass. and attended Brookline High School where she learned to cox on the Charles River.
Antonella and her partner Jack have a dog named Boba (like the tea).