The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championship
No. 11 Rowing Preview: Big 12 Championship
05.11.2015 | Rowing
Longhorns looking for first Big 12 crown since 2012.
WHAT: No. 11 Texas heads east this weekend for the seventh Big 12 Championship regatta. For the first time ever, the Big 12 champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
The Big 12 Championship features the 11th-ranked Longhorns along with Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State and West Virginia in addition to rowing affiliate members Alabama, Old Dominion and Tennessee.
WHEN/WHERE
Saturday-Sunday, May 16-17 (full schedule below)
Melton Hill Lake – Oak Ridge, Tennessee
CHAMPIONSHIP WEB SITE
LIVE RESULTS
LANE ASSIGNMENTS
FORMAT
The Big 12 Championship begins Saturday afternoon with two heats each of varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four, second varsity four and third varsity eight races. Pending Saturday's results, the eight teams advance to their respective grand and petite finals to be contested Sunday morning.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Texas has won four of the six Big 12 Championship regattas and most recently won the event in 2012. The Big 12 Championship began as a three-team regatta in 2009 (Texas, Kansas & Kansas State) before expanding to four with the addition of Oklahoma in 2010. The championship grew to five schools in 2013 with the addition of West Virginia to the league.
In January 2014, the Big 12 Conference announced its invitations to Alabama, Old Dominion and Tennessee to compete at future Big 12 Championships as affiliate members beginning in 2015.
RACE SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
Saturday, May 16 (Heats)
2:00 p.m., V8, heat 1
2:10 p.m., V8, heat 2
2:20 p.m., 2V8, heat 1
2:30 p.m., 2V8, heat 2
2:40 p.m., V4, heat 1
2:50 p.m., V4, heat 2
3:00 p.m., 2V4, heat 1
3:10 p.m., 2V4, heat 2
3:20 p.m., 3V8, heat 1
3:30 p.m. 3V8, heat 2
3:40 p.m., 3V4 exhibition
Sunday, May 17 (Finals)
9:00 a.m., 3V8, petite final
9:10 a.m., 3V8, grand final
9:20 a.m., 2V4, petite final
9:30 a.m., 2V4, grand final
9:40 a.m., V4, petite final
9:50 a.m., V4, grand final
10:00 a.m., 2V8, petite final
10:10 a.m., 2V8, grand final
10:20 a.m., V8, petite final
10:30 a.m., V8, grand final
11:15 a.m., awards
LONGHORNS SWEEP SAN DIEGO IN SEASON FINALE
Texas posted convincing wins in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four races and swept its dual against San Diego earlier this month (May 2) on Austin's Lady Bird Lake. The Horns' wins over the Toreros prolonged an impressive stretch of spring racing that saw Texas produce individual race wins over seven of the 20 schools featured in the previous CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll.
TEXAS HOLDS STEADY AT NO. 11 IN LATEST CRCA/USROWING COACHES POLL
Texas remained at a season high No. 11 in the latest CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll (May 6) after initially moving up to No. 11 on April 29. Texas had elevated to the 11th slot after winning the four-team Dale England Cup (April 24-25).
On April 1, Texas made its first appearance in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll since 2012 and checked in at No. 12 nationally. The Longhorns remained at No. 12 in the April 8 poll before dropping to No. 14 in the April 15 edition and climbing back to No. 12 on April 22.
UT's April 1 appearance in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll marked the program's first national ranking since March 25, 2012, when the Longhorns ranked nineteenth.
CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll (May 6, 2015)
1 Ohio State
2 Virginia
T3 California
T3 Washington
5 Brown
6 Stanford
7 Washington State
8 Princeton
9 Wisconsin
10 Yale
11 TEXAS
12 Michigan
13 Indiana
14 USC
15 Harvard-Radcliffe
16 UCLA
17 Syracuse
18 Cornell
19 Notre Dame
20 Gonzaga
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT PICKS UP SECOND BIG 12 B.O.W. HONOR
The Big 12 Conference announced April 29 the selection of Texas' second varsity eight boat as the league's Boat of the Week. It marked the third such selection for a Longhorns boat this season and the second of the season for the 2V8+. The 2V8+ featured coxswain Kenna Harris, stroke Sara Neaves, Angela Bumstead, Allyson Hite, Victoria Bartell, Victoria Bujala, Rachel Smith, Sofia Arend and Rachel Fleming.
The Longhorns' 2V8+ won both of its races at the Dale England Cup. Just one week after falling to Indiana's 2V8+ at the Clemson Invite, the Texas 2V8+ soundly defeated the Hoosiers in addition to Notre Dame and Columbia in Saturday's finals. UT defeated its nearest competitor, Notre Dame, by nearly five seconds in the 2V8+ final. Texas added a dual-racing win against Columbia and won by about 17 seconds.
LONGHORNS WIN DALE ENGLAND CUP
Texas won the second varsity eight, both fours races and added a runner-up showing from its varsity eight en route to a team victory at the Dale England Cup last month (April 24-25) in Bloomington, Indiana. The Longhorns won the event with 63 points while then-No. 11 Indiana took second place with 57 points.
VARSITY EIGHT EARNS BIG 12 RECOGNITION AFTER STRONG CLEMSON INVITE
The Big 12 Conference announced Wednesday (April 22) the selection of Texas' varsity eight boat as the league's Boat of the Week. The Longhorns' V8+ defeated No. 16 UCLA, No. 18 Oregon State, No. 19 Gonzaga and No. 20 Minnesota through three sessions of racing at the Clemson Invitational, a 21-team regatta featuring half of the 20 teams featured in the previous week's CRCA/USRowing coaches poll.
The Texas V8+ featured coxswain Katie Betsill, stroke Katie Trovato, Emily Froehlich, Gia Doonan, Pippa Loveard, Nadja Hyson, Casey Redman, Kim Gorcyca and April Brown. Betsill coxed the boat during the regatta's Saturday evening and Sunday morning sessions while Kenna Harris occupied the coxswain seat during the regatta's first session.
The V8+ also posed formidable challenges to No. 3 Virginia, No. 7 Washington State and No. 11 Indiana at the Clemson Invite. The V8 nearly toppled the third-ranked Cavaliers and took second in the Saturday evening race just 1.1 seconds behind UVA. The V8 pushed Washington State in the regatta's first session, and as was the case against Virginia, UT's V8 took a close second just 1.1 seconds behind.
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT TABBED BIG 12 BOAT OF THE WEEK
The Big 12 Conference announced the selection of UT's second varsity eight as the league's Boat of the Week on April 1. It marked the first such selection for a Longhorns boat since April 9, 2014, when Texas' varsity four was honored.
The Longhorns' 2V8+ handily won its qualifying heat on day one of the San Diego Crew Classic and defeated a strong field in the six-boat Women's Collegiate 2V Grand Final on the regatta's second day. The 2V8+ featured coxswain Katie Betsill, stroke Sara Neaves, Casey Redman, Allyson Hite, Victoria Bartell, Victoria Bujala, Rachel Smith, Sofia Arend and Rachel Fleming.
Texas won the Jackie Ann Still Hungness Memorial Trophy in a race that featured three participating schools – USC, UCLA and San Diego – who competed at the 2014 NCAA Championships. The race also featured Duke and fellow Big 12 member Kansas State.
NEXT REGATTA
The NCAA Championships are set for May 29-31 in Gold River, California. The event features 22 teams with racing in three events: eights, second eights and fours. Of the 22 participating teams, 11 earn automatic bids from their respective conferences (including the Big 12 champion) while the other 11 receive at-large bids.
Players Mentioned
