Nicole Cavanagh, a former assistant rowing coach at Loyola University in Maryland, begins her first season as a member of the Fordham rowing staff. She will serve as an assistant to head coach Ted Bonanno.

At Loyola, Cavanagh worked primarily with both the novice men and women, and assisted with the varsity squad. Last year, she guided the women's novice crew to its best ever finish at the both the Knetch Cup and the Murphy Cup. She also guided the Greyhound novice women to a gold medal at the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships for two years and assisted the women's lightweight 4+ that took first at the 2010 IRA championships, Loyola's first lightweight appearance at the IRAs. In the summer of 2009, Cavanagh assisted in sending the Thompson Boat Center Men's Junior Elite training camp to Club Nationals and place fifth overall. She also helped assist the Junior Men to a second place finish at Canadian Henley.

In 2008-09, Cavanagh assisted the Capital Crew's Varsity Men Squad based in Sacramento, California, leading the varsity and lightweight eight squads to fourth place finishes at Junior National in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cavanagh also assisted the women's squad at Newport Aquatic Center in California, helping the squad to a fourth place showing at the USRowing Junior Nationals.

As a competitor in the summers of 2008 and 2009, Cavanagh raced at the U23 Elite training camp for Thompsons Boat Center, helping her boats to several medals at Club Nationals and a second place at Canadian Henley. A graduate of Sacramento State University with a Criminal Justice Degree, she helped the Hornets crew take the bronze medal at conference championships.

As a rower in high school, Cavanagh competed with the varsity squad for four years and placed fourth overall in the USRowing Junior Nationals in Cincinnati, Ohio.