The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 1 Rowing’s I Eight repeats as Big 12 Boat of the Week
05.04.2022 | Rowing
The Texas First Eight earned third league honor of the year and the Longhorns’ fourth overall of the season.
IRVING, Texas – No. 1 Texas Rowing's First Varsity Eight was tabbed the Big 12 Boat of the Week honors for the second-straight week and the third time overall this season, the conference announced on Wednesday. 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.
Texas' First Eight remains unbeaten through seven races this season and has won 15-straight races dating back to the start of last season.
The victory by the First Eight was part of a dominant weekend for UT, during which they swept five races at the Longhorn Invite, strengthening their grip atop the national rankings. For the first time in program history, Texas garnered all 25 first-place votes in the Pocock Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Women's Rowing Poll. Stanford is second in the poll and Yale is ranked third. Princeton and Brown round out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Longhorns will be back on the water on Sunday, May 15 when they host the Big 12 Championship at Walter E. Long Lake. Texas has won six-straight Big 12 Conference Champions crowns and won 10 of the 12 Big 12 Conference Championships held, placing runner-up in 2013 and fourth in 2014. The championship race will consist of Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia and conference affiliates No. 20 Tennessee and RV Alabama.
2022 Longhorn Invite Results:
First Varsity Eight
1. TEXAS – 6:10.269
2. Ohio State – 6:22.353
3. SMU – 6:22.441
4. Virginia – 6:28.918
5. UCLA – 6:32.196
2022 Big 12 Conference Boat of the Week
March 23: Tennessee 1V8
March 30: Texas 3V8 and Tennessee 1V8
April 6: Tennessee 1V8
April 13: Texas 1V8
April 20: Tennessee 1V8
April 27: Texas 1V8
May 4: Texas 1V8
Players Mentioned
