Rachel Rane: Expert Coxswain
5/8/2023
Over the past two years, The University of Texas has won back-to-back Learfield Directors’ Cups, an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities in the United States with the most success in collegiate athletics. This incredible feat and honor has cemented UT as the best program in college athletics. Additionally, there has only been one UT team to win national championships in both of those years: the Texas Rowing team. There are a multitude of reasons for their back-to-back championships, from head coach Dave O’Neill to stars such as Kate Knifton or Anna Jensen. Nevertheless, among the important members of the team is a teammate that doesn’t actually row at all, senior coxswain and two-time first-team All-American, Rachel Rane.
For those unfamiliar with the sport of rowing, the position of coxswain is one of the most important people to have in the boat. For Rane, she knows just how important her job is.
“The role of a coxswain is a combination of what a quarterback, jockey and coach do. Our job is to steer the boat by communicating with the rowers which way to go. We are also responsible for making tactical decisions during the race, as well as motivating our team. A coxswain’s goal is to lead an efficient and effective race.”
A coxswain sits at the front of the boat facing their rowers, without an oar themselves. While Rane’s job is not as physically taxing as every other position, her role is far from easy, as it requires heavy mental preparation, vocal leadership skills, and strong situational awareness. As Rane notes, rowing, perhaps more than any team sport, requires each member to do their job to perfection in order to have a successful race.
“Rowing is the ultimate team sport. Everything has to go perfectly in order for a boat to move really fast. It requires an extreme amount of synergy and discipline. When I’m in the boat, watching everybody moving together, the catches, the leg drive, the swing, everything, it’s beautiful, and you almost feel like you’re flying.”
For Rachel, being a coxswain is in her DNA. She comes from a family of rowers, two of which, her brother and sister, are both coxswains. Growing up in Glencoe, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago, Rane’s original love was softball, but she became a fan of rowing by watching her older sister compete in high school. Not long after, Rane decided to start rowing herself and quickly found her calling as a coxswain. Rane went on to compete in the Rowing Scholastic National Championship as a high-schooler, and soon began being recruited by universities as a coxswain for their program. However, for Rane, picking UT was the obvious choice for many more reasons than just the rowing team.
“I got recruited from a lot of different schools across the country, some very good programs. But the reason Texas stood out to me is the overall feeling when you step foot on the Forty Acres. It’s just a uniquely special place. I believe Texas is the epitome of a university with great athletics, great academics and an amazing culture, and I just love the city of Austin.”
While Rane was enamored with The University of Texas from the beginning, it was the rowing program itself that completely convinced her to head to Austin.
“I chose this rowing team because the standard is so much higher than anything I’ve ever been a part of. The mission statement that I was recruited with was the pursuit of athletic excellence and the development into a better, more well-rounded person. I believe I have thrived in this situation and the program has more than lived up to this assurance.”
That much is evident. Rane’s accomplishments during her time at UT reads like a laundry list of accolades. The senior has led the rowing team to their first two national championships in program history. She is a two-time first-team All-American, two-time selection to the All-Big 12 Team, two-time CRCA National Scholar Athlete, six-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and much more. For Rane though, her biggest accomplishment from her time at UT would not show up on this list.
“I’ve accomplished so much, pushed myself so hard, and become such a better student-athlete here at Texas. But more importantly, I have become such a better student-athlete than when I came in, and I attribute a lot of that to Coach Dave, and his love for us.”
Without the Longhorn Foundation, none of this would be possible, so I’m just super grateful to all our members, and the donations they’ve generously granted us.Rachel Rane
As Rane has gone through a transformation these last four years, so has the women’s rowing team. Through the outstanding work of O’Neill, Athletics Director Chris Del Conte and various members of the UT Athletic Department, along with the extremely generous help from our great donors at the Longhorn Foundation, the rowing team has recently moved into a brand-new state-of-the-art training facility located adjacent to the Moody Center, and Rane could not be more appreciative.
“It’s been amazing to see how this program has transformed over the four years I’ve been here. When I came in, we had a facility in DKR, and we made it work. It wasn’t a terrible situation by any means, but this new facility has completely changed the way we do things, and it’s incredible. Being able to sit in our facility, hang out with my teammates or talk to coaches, and then walk just 10 feet and go work out has been such a beneficial change to our program. I believe this new facility has really helped improve our culture. Without the Longhorn Foundation, none of this would have been possible, so I’m just super grateful to all our members, and the donations they’ve generously granted us.”
This will be the first full season that the rowing team has had access to their new facility, and it certainly won’t hurt their chances of repeating as national champions in 2023. While winning a national championship is always the goal, for the Illinois native, winning it all again isn’t just about hanging another banner.
“The best part about the national championship wasn’t that we won, but that we inspired a lot of young athletes, and brought a lot of attention to the sport, and all the hard work that goes into it.”
Rane hopes that she can be an influence to young girls everywhere, inspiring them to fulfill their athletic dreams. Speaking of influence, Rane, a 2023 graduate who majored in Radio-Television-Film, recently collaborated with her university to take up projects with different UT social media accounts, including an entertaining series called “Rachel on the 40.” In this series, Rane interviewed students on the UT campus about the Texas Athletics programs. With this passion for media and the camera, once her rowing days are over Rane hopes to move to Los Angeles, and pursue cinematography, perhaps with her twin brother, who is also a film major. Stay tuned.
Now a Texas graduate, Rane hopes to pursue a spot on the US Olympic team as a coxswain. Having already competed for the U23 US National Team, and given her incredible work ethic and accomplishments thus far in her career, it would not be wise to bet against her.
