The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championship
No. 1 Rowing preview: 2022 Big 12 Championship
05.13.2022 | Rowing
Six-time defending champion Texas is set to host the Big 12 Championship at Walter E. Long Lake on Sunday.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1 Rowing will host the Big 12 Championship on Sunday, May 15 at Walter E. Long Lake. Texas is the six-time defending Big 12 Conference champion and has won 10 of the 12 Big 12 Conference Championships, placing runner-up in 2013 and fourth in 2014. The championship regatta will include Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia and conference affiliates No. 20 Tennessee and RV Alabama.
When: Sunday, May 15 at 9 a.m. CT
Where: Walter E. Long Lake, Austin, Texas (Free Admission)
Who: No. 20 Tennessee, RV Alabama, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, West Virginia
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Results: Available at HereNow
Race Schedule
9 a.m. CT – Third Four (exhibition)
Lane 4: TEXAS
Lane 5: Alabama
9:15 a.m. CT – Third Eight
Lane 1: West Virginia
Lane 2: Kansas
Lane 3: Kansas State
Lane 4: TEXAS
Lane 5: Alabama
Lane 6: Tennessee
Lane 7: Oklahoma
9:30 a.m. CT – Second Four
Lane 1: West Virginia
Lane 2: Kansas
Lane 3: Kansas State
Lane 4: TEXAS
Lane 5: Alabama
Lane 6: Oklahoma
Lane 7: Tennessee
9:45 a.m. CT – First Four
Lane 1: West Virginia
Lane 2: Tennessee
Lane 3: Kansas State
Lane 4: TEXAS
Lane 5: Alabama
Lane 6: Oklahoma
Lane 7: Kansas
10 a.m. CT – Second Eight
Lane 1: West Virginia
Lane 2: Oklahoma
Lane 3: Tennessee
Lane 4: TEXAS
Lane 5: Alabama
Lane 6: Kansas
Lane 7: Kansas State
10:15 a.m. CT – First Eight
Lane 1: West Virginia
Lane 2: Kansas
Lane 3: Alabama
Lane 4: TEXAS
Lane 5: Tennessee
Lane 6: Oklahoma
Lane 7: Kansas State
Scoring for Big 12 Championship
Race 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
First Eight 42 36 30 24 18 12 6
Second Eight 28 24 20 16 12 8 4
First Four 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
Second Four 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Third Eight 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Big 12 Championship History
Texas has won six-straight and 10 of the 12 Big 12 Championship regattas. The Longhorns swept all six grand finals races at the last six Big 12 Championships. In all, Texas has swept the regatta eight times and is the only program to sweep the Big 12 Championship.
The Big 12 Championship began as a three-team regatta in 2009 (Texas, Kansas and Kansas State) before expanding to four teams with the addition of Oklahoma in 2010. The championship grew to five schools with the league's addition of West Virginia in 2013.
In January 2014, the Big 12 Conference announced invitations to Alabama and Tennessee to compete at the Big 12 Championships beginning in 2015. While all seven participating schools are eligible to win the NCAA automatic-qualifying bid, only Texas, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia can win the Big 12 team title.
Last Time Out
No. 1 Texas Rowing closed out the regular-season schedule with a sweep of five races at the Longhorn Invite at Walter. E Long Lake on Saturday morning. The Longhorns' First Varsity Eight improved its winning streak to 15-straight races dating back to the start of last season, while the Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four remain unbeaten this season through seven races per event.
In a field that included ranked squads No. 10 Ohio State, No. 14 Virginia, No. 16 SMU, as well as a strong UCLA squad, the Texas I Eight, II Eight, I Four, II Four and III Eight A all came away with impressive victories, while the Texas III Eight B added a second-place result.
Texas' effort was highlighted by the First Eight's dominating victory, winning by 12 seconds after crossing the line at 6:10.269, followed by Ohio State in 6:22.353 and SMU in 6:22.441.
The Texas Second Eight also tallied a convincing victory, posting a time of 6:21.431 to SMU's 6:29 672 and Ohio State's 6:30.891, to remain unbeaten on the year.
In the Varsity Four, Texas (7:01.229) topped Ohio State (7:07.206) by nearly six seconds to also keep its unbeaten string intact.
The tightest race if the day occurred in the Second Varsity Four with Texas collecting the victory with a time of 7:08.335, out-sprinting Ohio State (7:08.725) over the final 100 meters to win by less than half a second.
The Longhorns opened the morning with a 1-2 finish in the 3V8 from the Texas A (6:29.593) and Texas B (6:38.246) boats, respectively, with Virginia (6:41.563) placing third.
A Look at the Longhorns
The defending national champion and six-time defending Big 12 Conference champion Longhorns return four student-athletes who earned CRCA All-American recognition following last year's title run. Rowers Aspa Christodoulidis, Kaitlin Knifton, Francesca Raggi and coxswain Rachel Rane lead the way for Texas, as well as 2021 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Anna Jensen. All five were integral members of the Texas First Varsity Eight that powered past Stanford and Washington over the final 750 meters of the Grand Final to capture the first title in program history.
All told, 15 of the 20 rowers and all three coxswains who competed in the 2021 National Championship regatta are back in the fold.
Also returning from last year's champion First Eight boat are Lisa Gutfleisch and Susanna Temming, while returners from the Second Eight crew will be rowers Katelyn Bouthillette, Amber Harwood, Parker Illingworth, Hannah Medcalf, and Samantha Schalk and coxswain Elizabeth Romero. Back from the Four is coxswain Olivia Fogarty and rowers Marlowe Eldridge, Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski and Lanie Nitsch.
Texas in the Polls
The Longhorns opened the season as No. 1 in the 2022 Preseason Pocock Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Women's Rowing Poll and have maintained the position throughout the season. Texas claimed all 25 first-place votes in this week's rankings for the second-straight week and has held the top spot for 12 consecutive polls. Stanford is second in the poll and Yale is ranked third. Princeton and Brown round out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll Division I Rankings – Week 9 (May 11)
1. TEXAS (25)
2. Stanford
3. Yale
4. Princeton
5. Brown
6. Michigan
7. Washington
8. Penn
9. Ohio State
10. California
11. Syracuse
12. SMU
13. Oregon State
14. Duke
15. USC
16. Virginia
17. Indiana
18. Rutgers
19. Washington State
20. Tennessee
Conference Honors
On May 4, the First Varsity Eight was tabbed the Big 12 Boat of the Week for the second-straight week and the third time overall this season. The Longhorns earned the weekly award after a dominating performance at the Longhorn Invite on Saturday at Walter E. Long Lake in Austin. Texas won or earned a share of the Big 12 weekly honor in each of the four weeks a UT boat was eligible this season.
In a field that included No. 10 Ohio State, No. 14 Virginia, No. 16 SMU, and a strong UCLA squad, the Texas First Varsity Eight tallied a 12-second victory. Racing on flat water with 2-3 mph cross-wind and no tailwind, the Texas I Eight posted an impressive time of 6:10.269 to top Ohio State (6:22.353) and SMU (6:22.441). The Longhorns led throughout the race, jumping to an early lead in the first 250 meters of the 2,000-meter course, and extending the advantage through the remainder of the race.
The Texas First Eight featured junior coxswain Rachel Rane, as well as senior Kaitlin Knifton, senior Francesca Raggi, senior Aspa Christodoulidis, senior Etta Carpender, sophomore Anna Jensen, senior Susanna Temming, junior Sophia Calabrese and redshirt senior Lisa Gutfleisch.
Championship Pedigree
Texas has registered top-eight results in each of the last six NCAA Championship Regattas with program-best results in five, including each of the last four:
2021 – 1st
2020 – No regatta
2019 – 2nd
2018 – 3rd
2017 – 4th
2016 – 8th
2015 – 7th
Defending Conference Champions
Texas enters 2022 as the six-time defending Big 12 Conference Champions. In all, Texas has won 10 of the 12 Big 12 Conference Championships held, placing runner-up in 2013 and fourth in 2014.
Players Mentioned
