The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Five Longhorns secure spots on USRowing 2022 U23 National Team
06.16.2022 | Rowing
Kaitlin Knifton, Francesca Raggi, Anna Jensen, Caitlin Esse and Sue Holderness will represent the United States at the 2022 World Rowing U23 Championships in Italy this July.
SARASOTA, Fla. – Texas Rowing's Kaitlin Knifton, Francesca Raggi, Anna Jensen, Caitlin Esse and Sue Holderness secured spots on the USRowing U23 National Team on Wednesday at the 2022 Under 23 and Under 19 National Team Trials at Nathan Benderson Park.
Knifton, Raggi, Jensen and Esse will represent the U.S. in the Women's Four (BW4-) and Holderness will row in the Women's Pair (BW2-) at the at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships this July in Varese, Italy.
Rowing in the U23 women's four, the Texas boat of Knifton, Raggi, Jensen, and Esse clocked a 6:51.07 to claim their spot in Varese. The four has a lot of international racing experience. Raggi stroked the women's eight to a gold medal and the women's four to a silver medal at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, while Jensen was a member of that gold-medal eight. Esse won silver in the U23 women's pair in 2021. Knifton has represented the U.S. at the junior level, having won a bronze medal in the four with coxswain at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships.
In the U23 women's pair, Holderness, competing for Craftsbury Green Racing Project, and Megan Lee defeated the unaffiliated pair of Jeri Rhodes and Elena Collier-Hezel by just under five seconds. Holderness and Lee clocked a 7:29.02, with Rhodes and Collier-Hezel finishing in a 7:33.71.
Knifton, Raggi and Jensen were part of the Longhorns' First Varsity Eight boat that won national titles at both the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Championships at Nathan Benderson Park, securing team championships for Texas with each victory. Esse bowed the Second Varsity Eight to a fourth-place finish at the 2022 national regatta.
The 2022 World Rowing Under 23 World Championships and 2022 World Rowing Under 19 Championships will take place July 25-31 on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy. The remainder of the boats will be chosen through selection camps and named in early July, with six Longhorns taking part in the camps. Sophia Calabrese, Sue Holderness and Samantha Schalk were invited to take part in the sculling selection camp, while Etta Carpender, Lanie Nitsch and Rachel Rane will take part in the sweep selection camp.
Players Mentioned
