The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Rowing announces 2018-19 race schedule
09.04.2018 | Rowing
Texas slated to race top crews in the team's 20th season.
AUSTIN, Texas – After a record-breaking 2017-18 campaign, Texas Rowing looks to continue their dominance in 2018-19, which marks the team's 20th season. Last year, the Longhorns notched a program-best third-place team finish at the NCAA Division I Championship.
In planning his fifth season at the helm of Texas Rowing, Coach Dave O'Neill shaped a challenging race schedule for his team, seeking out the top competition from each major rowing conference around the country.
"We put a lot of thought into our race schedule, and I'm really excited for what's ahead," said O'Neill. "The focus from the outset was to strengthen the regular season, and we certainly did that. We'll travel east and west, and host what looks to be the most competitive Longhorn Invite, yet. Each weekend we'll line up against top tier programs, so we should be well tested and prepared for the championship races later in the spring."
The Longhorns will participate in two fall races before taking on the top collegiate competition in a full spring schedule. Fall racing features 5,000 meter time-trial races, whereas the spring offers the 2,000 meter side-by-side racing featured in the Olympics.
Texas begins the fall season on Sunday, October 21 when they travel to Boston, Mass. to race an eight at the 54th Head of the Charles Regatta.
"While the fall racing is not a priority, we'll be taking a crew to the Head of the Charles, which is truly a bucket list event in our sport," O'Neill said. "It will be great for our program to be represented and have some fun."
This will be the team's first appearance at the regatta since 2013 and its fourth appearance within the last 10 years.
The Longhorns close their fall slate at home on Lady Bird Lake at the 34th annual Head of the Colorado. The regatta will be held on the shore of Festival Beach Park in Austin on October 27.
Texas opens the 2019 season with a trip to the west coast, participating at the San Diego Crew Classic. In 2018, all four Texas boats posted top-two finishes at the regatta, with three boats finishing just behind the University of California, who went on to win the 2017 NCAA Championship. The novice eight took the Laurel Korholz Perpetual Trophy, winning with a time of 7:20.007.
Two weeks later on April 20, the team will travel to Princeton, N.J. for scrimmages against Princeton and Yale. Princeton has won the last three Ivy League titles, earning the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships three years in a row.
The following weekend, the Longhorns will host the annual Longhorn Invite on April 27 on Walter E. Long Lake in Austin, where ACC champion Virginia will join the competition.
To conclude the regular-season, UT will go head-to-head against Ohio State University on May 4 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won its sixth consecutive Big Ten title, and ninth overall, at the 2018 Big Ten Rowing Championships.
For the fifth straight year, the Big 12 Championship will take place on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. From May 18-19, Texas will take on fellow Big 12 Conference schools Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, and West Virginia, with Big 12 affiliates Alabama and Tennessee rounding out the field. In 2018, Texas captured its fourth consecutive Big 12 title, winning an automatic NCAA Championship bid. The 2019 Big 12 Rowing Championship will mark the eighth season the event has been recognized as a fully-supported conference championship.
The 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships will be held in Indianapolis, Ind. at Eagle Creek Park from May 31-June 2.