Women's Rowing
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- coachannie@ath.msu.edu
Primary Contact for Out of Sport Athletes
MSU Rowing Head Coach Stacey Rippetoe appointed Annie Cantu to her staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2024, marking Cantu's return to her alma mater.
Cantu joins the staff at Michigan State after a three-year tenure as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan. She worked primarily with the novices at EMU, while also deeply involved with talent transfer recruiting and alumni and parent outreach.
She is one of two former Spartan rowers on the coaching staff - she and former teammate Nicole Marek both not only rowed for the Spartans but the duo also coached together at Eastern Michigan before returning to East Lansing. Â
Cantu was a four-year letter-winner and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection at Michigan State, where she was a fixture in the varsity eight her final three seasons after splitting time in the novice boat and second eight in her freshman campaign.  Cantu rowed in the 2017 Head of the Charles with the Spartans, finishing 25th in the Championship eights. Â
She graduated from MSU in the spring of 2020 with a bachelor's degree in psychology with minors in human behavior and social sciences, with her senior season unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Post-graduation, Cantu returned home to her native Texas and served as a coach with the Dallas Rowing Club, where she had rowed as part of the juniors program throughout high school – she began her scholastic rowing career in eighth grade at DRC
