Tess Thompson joined the UCF rowing program as an assistant coach in June 2024. Thompson joins the Knights after completing her fifth year rowing for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
In 2020, Thompson began her rowing career with Ohio State. As a sophomore the next year, she began competing in the top novice boat. Her junior year, Thompson moved into the First Eight, winning the 2022 Big 10 Championship and finishing seventh at the 2022 NCAA Championship.
In her senior year with the Buckeyes, Thompson became the first Ohio State rower to be honored with the NCAA Elite 90 Award given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site of each of the NCAA’s 90 championships. Thompson was also named a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Second Team All-American, as well as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar CRCA Scholar-Athlete and an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
The Naperville, Illinois native graduated from Ohio State University with her Master's in Kinesiology after receiving two Bachelor degrees in Education and Human Development.