No. 2 Rowing advances all boats to NCAA Championship Grand Finals

Saturday, May 27

Pennsauken, N.J.

7 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. ET

University of Texas

NCAA Championships

No. 2 Rowing advances all boats to NCAA Championship Grand Finals

05.27.2023 | Rowing

The Longhorns will compete for a third consecutive NCAA title on Sunday.

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – No. 2 Rowing won the Four and had three top-three showings in the semifinals of the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championships on Saturday at Cooper River Park to advance all boats to Sunday's Grand Finals. The Longhorns advanced all three boats to the Grand Finals for the fifth consecutive championship.

The Longhorns will look to become the second program to win three consecutive national titles and the first since Ohio State accomplished the feat from 2013-15. Additionally, Texas' I Eight will seek a third-straight championship, an achievement only previously accomplished by the 2013-15 Buckeyes.

"The Saturday at NCAAs might be the most stressful day of the year since there are so many good crews fighting for the top three spots," said Texas head coach Dave O'Neill. "Our goal for the day was simply to put all three boats into the A final, and then get ready for tomorrow. We did exactly what we were looking to do, and I was particularly impressed with strokes of each boat. Kaitlin Knifton, Nadja Yaroschuk and Jane McGee did their jobs to perfection as they did what was needed to move to the big race tomorrow. There will be some really intense racing and we'll be in the thick of it."

Texas opened the morning with a thrilling race in the I Eight with the Longhorns finishing third behind Princeton and Penn, crossing the line just over a second after the Tigers. Princeton, Penn and Texas were in the lead positions throughout the race, with the Tigers taking command early followed closely by the Quakers and Longhorns. Texas was in third at 750 meters but made a move and pushed ahead of Penn by the midway point. The Longhorns couldn't maintain the momentum and were overtaken by the Quakers just before the final 500 meters. Princeton won it in 6:13.423, followed by Penn in 6:13.913 and Texas in 6:14.471.

The Longhorns found themselves in another tightly-contested battle in the II Eight, taking second behind Washington to secure a spot in the grand finals. In third behind the Huskies and Princeton for much of the race, Texas trailed the duo well into the first three-quarters of the race, but never lost contact with the Tigers' boat and surged ahead of them over the final 500 meters. The Huskies crossed the line in 6:18.363, as the Longhorns (6:20.653) finished second and Tigers (6:23.439) third.

In the Four, Texas led wire-to-wire and was pushed throughout the race by Princeton on the way to the Longhorn victory. At 500 meters, Texas was out in front with all six crews overlapping. UT held a two-seat advantage over Princeton at 750 meters and slowly extended their lead throughout the remainder of the course. The Horns won in 7:07.819, one half boat-length ahead of the Tigers (7:09.013) with Virginia (7:10.187) surging over the final 500 meters to place third.

The Longhorns are one of four teams to qualify a boat in each grand final race, along with Princeton, Yale and Stanford, while Washington will have a boat in the I Eight and II Eight grand finals. Additionally, Penn will race I Eight grand final, California will compete in the II Eight grand final, and Brown and Virginia will have boats in the Four grand final.

The NCAA Championships will conclude on Sunday, May 28, with the Grand Finals and be stream online at NCAA Championships Live.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY THREE SCHEDULE (SUNDAY, MAY 28)
Four Grand Final – 8:36 a.m. CT (9:36 a.m. ET)
Lane 1: Virginia
Lane 2: Stanford
Lane 3: TEXAS
Lane 4: Yale
Lane 5: Princeton
Lane 6: Brown

II Eight Grand Final – 9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET)
Lane 1: Princeton
Lane 2: California
Lane 3: Washington
Lane 4: Stanford
Lane 5: TEXAS
Lane 6: Yale

I Eight Grand Final – 9:24 a.m. CT (10:24 a.m. ET)
Lane 1: Yale
Lane 2: Pennsylvania
Lane 3: Stanford
Lane 4: Princeton
Lane 5: Washington
Lane 6: TEXAS

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (Day Two)
I Eight – Semifinal A Results
1. Princeton - 6:13.423
2. Penn - 6:13.913
3. TEXAS - 6:14.471
4. Syracuse - 6:19.547
5. SMU - 6:24.055
6. California - 6:25.811

II Eight – Semifinal B Results
1. Washington - 6:18.363
2. TEXAS - 6:20.653
3. Princeton - 6:23.439
4. Brown - 6:29.153
5. Virginia - 6:32.377
6. SMU - 6:36.939

Four – Semifinal B Results
1. TEXAS - 7:07.819
2. Princeton - 7:09.013
3. Virginia - 7:10.187
4. Washington - 7:11.489
5. Michigan - 7:21.777
6. Duke - 7:33.615

LINEUPS
I Eight: Rachel Rane (C), Kaitlin Knifton (Stroke), Susanna Temming, Anna Jensen, Etta Carpender, Sophia Calabrese, Samantha Schalk, Kelsey McGinley, Lanie Nitsch (Bow)