The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
Rowing posts pair of school-record finishes, places eighth at NCAA Championships
05.29.2016 | Rowing
Texas posts top-nine national finishes from all three boats, lands school-record finishes from the second varsity eight boat and the four boat.
GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Texas posted school-record finishes from two of its three boats and notched its second straight top-10 team finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships Sunday morning on Lake Natoma.
Texas finished in eighth place at the 22-team NCAA Championships with 98 points. California won the team title with 129 points and Ohio State, who had claimed the previous three team titles, took second at 126 points.
The Longhorns opened the day by posting the program's top NCAA Championships finish in the fours. Texas placed third in the fours petite final (consolation final), up a couple of spots from the previous school record of fifth place in the petite final at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Texas held second behind Yale at the 1500m mark at 5:27.773, though a late charge from Princeton bumped the Longhorns to third at the 2000m finish. Yale won the fours petite final at 7:15.440 while Princeton took second at 7:17.904 and Texas placed a close third at 7:17.940.
"We have some good rowers in there," second-year UT coach Dave O'Neill said. "They were disappointed in their semifinal, but they came out and showed a lot of fight today. They were on the losing side of a close finish, but I'm really proud of them for the race they put together today."
UT sent its II Eight (second varsity eight) to an NCAA Championships grand final for the first time in program history. The Longhorns placed fifth in the six-boat final at 6:35.285, the top finish ever for a 2V8 at Texas and the second top-five finish ever for any Longhorns boat at an NCAA Championships regatta.
"I think with that second eight doing so well, we're starting to show the depth within our program," O'Neill said. "We have a lot of kids who are stepping up and doing better. They know how to go fast, and they're learning. I'm really proud of them, and it shows we're definitely moving forward.
Texas' I Eight (varsity eight) gave UT its first finals victory at an NCAA Championships regatta. The Longhorns led from start-to-finish in the I Eight petite final (consolation final) and crossed the 2,000m finish line first at 6:24.496 while Washington settled for second at 6:25.145. Wisconsin placed third at 6:26.419.
"I gave them about an hour to be disappointed with that semifinal yesterday," O'Neill said. I said, "Let's get ready and show you're a good crew." It shows a lot of character to bounce back from being disappointed and coming out and winning that B (petite) final. That's a good boat. We had three freshman and sophomores in that boat. I give them a lot of credit for stepping up and showing a lot of character."
The NCAA Championships will move to the east coast next year and are set for West Windsor, New Jersey.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (TOP 10)
1 California, 129
2 Ohio State, 126
3 Virginia, 112
4 Stanford, 107
5 Washington, 106
6 Brown, 102
7 Princeton, 100
8 TEXAS, 98
9 Wisconsin, 80
10 Michigan, 75
2016 NCAA Championships (Day 3 of 3)
I Eight Petite Final (Consolation Final)
1 TEXAS, 6:24.496
2 Washington, 6:25.145
3 Wisconsin, 6:26.419
4 USC, 6:28.487
5 Michigan, 6:30.546
6 Syracuse, 6:31.733
Texas Crew: Katie Betsill (coxswain), Fanny Bon, Pippa Loveard, Gia Doonan, Mariam Soufi, Emily Froehlich, Sara Neaves, April Brown, Alice Bowyer
Texas Racing Shell: The Ruth Stiver
II Eights Grand Final (Championship Final)
1 California, 6:28.064
2 Ohio State, 6:28.900
3 Washington, 6:30.551
4 Virginia, 6:33.662
5 TEXAS, 6:35.285
6 Princeton, 6:41.308
Texas Crew: Emily Walker (coxswain), Jessica Smith, Margaret Dail, Inga Gasbakk, Sarah Cadman, Rachel Smith, Victoria Bujala, Rachel Fleming, Kendall Chapman
Texas Racing Shell: The Morgan A. Towns
Fours Petite Final
1 Yale, 7:15.440
2 Princeton, 7:17.904
3 TEXAS, 7:17.940
4 Brown, 7:20.518
5 Wisconsin, 7:22.380
6 Indiana, 7:23.400
Texas Crew: Teresa Nguyen (coxswain), Courtney Crossley, Allyson Hite, Victoria Bartell, Sofia Arend
ADDITIONAL POST-CHAMPIONSHIP COMMENTS
Texas head coach Dave O'Neill
I was just talking to the team. The theme for the weekend is, "Life can be cruel." The difference between eighth (in the team standings) and being on the podium (fourth or better) was about nine points. A few things happened on Saturday and a few more things today or we could have been on the podium. That's the level that we're at in terms of the rowing. Sometimes you're on the losing side of some close finishes, but that's okay. We'll be back.
One thing I'd like to say is congrats to Cal. Certainly, I know a lot of the women on that team and know that coaching staff really well, so I give a "Go Bears" to them and a big congratulations for winning the title. The majority of our team racing here today are freshmen and sophomores. We have a really good recruiting class coming in and we're learning a lot. We'll talk about what the kids on the team learned this week, and that will go over to next year. We're definitely moving forward.
Players Mentioned
