Jessica Archibald '95 — Crew

Jessica Archibald '95

One of Connecticut College's most heralded rowers, Jessica Archibald was truly a program-changing athlete, earning the stroke position in the women's varsity eight boat for three years. As a sophomore, she helped lead the Camels to a gold medal at the 1992 Head of the Charles Regatta, becoming the first crew in Connecticut College history to win an event at that regatta.

During that memorable season, the varsity eight also won a silver medal at the New England Championships. After spending the fall 1993 season studying abroad in Scotland, Archibald returned to lead the Camels to a bronze medal at the 1994 Head of the Charles as well as two additional silver medals at the 1994 and 1995 New England Championships.

As a team captain during her senior season, Archibald anchored the varsity boat that won the petit final (7th place overall) at the 1995 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, securing the highest finish for a Division III school at that event. Under the direction of head coach Claus Wolter, Connecticut College earned national rankings — including a high of second in the country — in 1994 and 1995.

At the conclusion of her senior season, Archibald received the 1995 Anita L. DeFrantz '74 Award, presented annually to the outstanding male and female senior athletes, in the first year the award was given. That summer, she and her teammates traveled to Europe to compete in the Women's British Henley Regatta in addition to races in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

While Archibald's rowing career was far-reaching and productive at the collegiate level, it was just the beginning of her successful career on the water. As a member of the New York Athletic Club rowing program since 1996 and captain of the team from 1998-2001, she won nine national championships and two Canadian Henley Championships. In 1999, Archibald finished seventh at the Pan American Trials in the doubles event, followed by a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000 in the pairs.

In 2002, Archibald moved to the Princeton (N.J.) National Team Training Center, where she shifted her focus from rowing in four- and eight-person boats to one- and two-person shells, which are more technically demanding. In 2002, she rowed to a third-place singles finish at the Canadian Henley and was seventh in the double sculls at the U.S. National Team selection regatta.

Archibald finished her competitive rowing career at the New York Athletic Club, rowing to a fifth-place finish in the double at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials and a second-place finish in the championship double event at the 2004 Head of the Charles. She continues to row annually at the Head of the Charles in the double, and she volunteers with rowing organizations in the San Francisco area.

In addition to rowing 25 hours per week, Archibald spent five years working at Salomon Smith Barney. After earning an MBA from New York University in 2002, she took a position as an associate at Care Capital LLC, a biotech venture capital firm in Princeton, N.J. She currently lives in Foster City, Calif., where she works at Paul Capital Investments in San Francisco.