The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
03.04.2021 | Rowing
Texas will host the Longhorn Invitational and Big 12 Championship.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas Rowing announced its 2021 schedule today, featuring regattas against two Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Preseason Top-10 opponents and the Longhorn Invitational. The five-time defending Big 12 Conference champions will compete in three regular-season regattas in preparation for the postseason.
"Like everything the past year, putting together a race schedule was a bit of a challenge, and there some concerns early that our options would be limited," said Texas Rowing head coach Dave O'Neill. "I'm thankful to race top-level competition from across the country, and I'm really happy with where we ended up."
Texas will open the season with its first trip to Michigan to face the defending Big Ten Champion Wolverines on Belleville Lake on Saturday, April 10. The No. 3-ranked Wolverines finished six points behind the Longhorns at the 2019 NCAA Championships to place third.
Next up, Texas hosts the 20th Longhorn Invitational on Saturday, April 24 on Walter E. Long Lake. The Longhorns will welcome No. 20 SMU, Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and the University of Central Oklahoma to Austin.
The Longhorns will close out the regular season slate on Sunday, May 2 with a trip to No. 7 Virginia for their first contest on Rivanna Reservoir in Earlysville since 2017. The 10-time defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Cavaliers finished 10th at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
Texas will host the Big 12 Championship for the first time on Sunday, May 16 on Walter E. Long Lake.
"A definite highlight of the season will be hosting the Big 12 Championship for the first time. There's been a ton of work to get to the point where we can host the championship at Lake Walter E. Long, and we're really looking forward to this event," O'Neill said. "Of course, all of the work we're doing and racing in April and May is focused on the NCAA championship, and I expect us to be well prepared for some terrific racing in Sarasota."
The NCAA Championships will be held at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., Friday-Sunday, May 28-30. Texas has finished in the top-8 in each of the last five NCAA Championship regattas, improving from fourth to third to second in the last three contests.
