The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championship
No. 4 Rowing sends all boats to Grand Finals at NCAA Championship
06.01.2019 | Rowing
For the second time in program history, Texas qualifies all boats for grand finals at the NCAA Championship.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- For the second time in program history, the No. 4 University of Texas rowing team will send all boats to grand finals at the NCAA Championship on Sunday morning. The first time the team accomplished this feat was last year at the 2018 NCAA Championship in Sarasota, Fla., where it finished third overall, a program best.
The Longhorns grittily qualified all crews to compete for the national title on Sunday, with the first eight, second eight, and four tabbing second, third, and second place finishes, respectively.
The first eight was able to break away from No. 5 Michigan in the second 1,000 meters of the race, but narrowly missed capturing No. 3 California, sitting off of the Golden Bears' time by just over two seconds. However, landing in the top-three solidified their fate in the Division I Women's I Eight grand finals on Sunday.
The second eight competed in an exciting photo-finish race with No. 1 Washington, No. 3 California, and No. 7 Ohio State, as all four schools crossed the line within a two-second window. The Longhorns edged the Golden Bears this time, claiming third at 6:53.464 and sending the crew to Sunday's grand finals.
Senior rower Margaret Dail, seven-seat of the second eight, said, "Today was really exciting. We made history and I could not be more proud of my boat, or this team. We have a lot of heart and have worked so hard all year for this. Now it's time to focus back in and get ready for tomorrow to make more history."
The Texas four lined up at the stake boats with a mission to send the entire team to compete for the national title. The crew crossed the halfway point neck-and-neck with No. 1 Washington but finished the race just behind the Huskies at 7:39.866. The boat's push away from No. 5 Michigan in the middle 1,000 meters proved critical for its second-place finish.
Barring any delays on Sunday, the first eight will compete first at 8:10 a.m. CT, the second eight at 8:30 a.m. CT, and the four will cap off the regatta at 8:50 a.m. CT. An awards ceremony will follow after the conclusion of Sunday's races.
Sunday's Schedule:
| Boat | Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| First Eight | 8:10 a.m. CT | Ohio State | Michigan | Stanford | TEXAS | Washington | California |
| Second Eight | 8:30 a.m. CT | Virginia | TEXAS | Michigan | Ohio State | Stanford | Washington |
| Four | 8:50 a.m. CT | California | Michigan | Ohio State | TEXAS | Stanford | Washington |
O'NEILL QUOTES:
On the team's NCAA Championship experience: "The seniors on our team are the first group that (the Texas coaching staff) recruited. There are kids in our second eight who are experiencing their fourth NCAA Championship, what they know is being at NCAA's and fighting for the final...this is our second year in a row to have all three boats in the final, so we are that 'elite' group. It is good that having all boats in the final feels normal for us. It's like, yeah, that's what we do. We knew that semifinals were going to be tough racing, and we know that we're going to have to step it up even more for the finals.
On the team's prominence: "From the outsider's perspective, (seeing Texas move all boats to the grand finals) seems new. It's good for us to see that people are starting to recognize that Texas is one of those elite programs. But, from the inside, we just do our work."
On tomorrow's competition: "Racing's going to be fierce. There's going to be some tight, great racing, and Texas is going to be right in there."
RESULTS
I Eight: 1. California 6:31.252, 2. TEXAS 6:33.682, 3. Michigan 6:38.038, 4. Iowa 6:41.806, 5. Brown 6:46.531, 6. Virginia 6:49.616
II Eight: 1. Washington 6:52.663, 2. Ohio State 6:52.776, 3. TEXAS 6:53.464, 4. California 6:54.402, 5. Yale 7:04.061, 6. Indiana 7:11.462
Four: 1. Washington 7:35.938, 2. TEXAS 7:39.866, 3. Michigan 7:42.590, 4. Princeton 7:47.847, 5. Yale 7:51.528, 6. Brown 7:51.975
LINEUPS
I Eight: (C) Ashley Jacobs, (S) Ljiljana Josic, (7) Milica Slijepcevic, (6) Fanny Bon, (5) Aspa Christodoulidis, (4) Alexandra Watson, (3) Francesca Raggi, (2) Maria Valencia, (B) Kaitlin Knifton
II Eight: (C) Lindsey Devore, (S) Katelyn Bouthillette, (7) Margaret Dail, (6) Payten Kooyers, (5) Merilynn Finley, (4) Alexa McAuliffe, (3) Marlowe Eldridge, (2) Susanna Temming, (B) Alice Bowyer
Four: (C) Kay Murphy, (S) Lauren Mufarreh, (3) Kendall Chapman, (2) Sophie Pendrill, (B) Claudia Destefani
Players Mentioned
