The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2023
The most accomplished rower in University of Texas history, Gia Doonan (2013-17) was a four-year letterwinner that helped the Longhorns achieve heights the program had not seen prior to her arrival on the Forty Acres. A three-time College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All-America first-team selection (2015-17), Doonan guided the Longhorns to three top-eight NCAA Championship results, including a then-program-best fourth-place finish in 2017. The only two-time selection as Big 12 Conference Rower of the Year (2015 and 2017), she was the first four-time All-Big 12 honoree in conference history, and from 2015-17 won three Big 12 Conference team and First Eight titles. A native of Marion, Mass., Doonan was a three-sport star at Tabor Academy, excelling in rowing, basketball and track & field. She quickly made her presence felt at Texas, earning a spot on the First Eight as a freshman in 2013-14. That season, she was named to the All-Big 12 Team after helping the Longhorns finish fourth at the Big 12 Championship. That same year, UT took fifth in the Conference USA Championships, the program’s final season in the league. In 2015, Doonan helped guide the Longhorns to the program’s first NCAA Championship berth and the fifth Big 12 title program. Texas placed seventh in the NCAA team standings, highlighted by Doonan and the First Eight’s fourth-place finish – the first Texas boat to appear in Grand Final at the national regatta. In helping lead the Horns to the national championship regatta, Doonan earned CRCA First-Team All-American accolades, was tabbed Big 12 Rower of the Year and earned a second-straight all-league honor. Doonan again claimed First-Team All-America honors and an All-Big 12 Team nod in 2015-16 after guiding Texas to a second consecutive conference crown and an eighth-place national finish. With Doonan on board the I Eight, Texas claimed a second-straight Big 12 title and took seventh in the Grand Final at the national meet. As a senior in 2016-17, she was named a first-team All-American for a third time, collected her fourth All-Big 12 Team honor and was a nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year after helping lead the Texas First Eight to an undefeated regular-season campaign, winning 11 races heading into the NCAA Championships. As a team, the Longhorns placed fourth at the national regatta, with the Texas First Eight finishing fourth in the Grand Final. UT also claimed a third-straight Big 12 Conference as Doonan led the I Eight to victory. Doonan was a member of the USRowing Senior National Team from 2017-21. She was the first UT rower to compete in the Olympic Games, earning a spot on the United States Women’s 8+ for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, helping Team USA to a fourth-place finish. She had previously competed for the United States at the 2018 and 2019 World Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup. In 2019, Doonan rowed with the eight in their third-place finish at the World Rowing Championships. She also was a member of the four that placed second at the World Rowing Cup I, and the eight that finished second at the World Rowing Cup II. Doonan finished ninth in the pair and first in the eight at the 2018 World Championships and placed third in the eight at the 2018 World Rowing Cup III. As a member of the United States U23 team, Doonan helped the Americans win gold in the 8+ and 4- at the 2016 World Rowing Under-23 Championships. Doonan returned to Austin in fall 2021, joining the Rowing coaching staff and helping the Longhorns to the program’s second consecutive national title in 2022. She joined the staff full-time that summer as an assistant coach and helped guide UT to an eighth-consecutive conference crown and a fourth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA National Championships.
