The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Longhorn Invite
No. 2 Rowing preview: Longhorn Invite
04.26.2024 | Rowing
Texas welcomes three of the top programs in the nation to Austin with No. 1 Stanford, No. 12 Virginia and No. 14 Ohio State set to race on Saturday at Lake Walter E. Long.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas Rowing will host the Longhorn Invite, set to return to Lake Walter E. Long on Saturday, on Saturday, April 27 after a one-year hiatus. The Longhorns will welcome defending NCAA Champion Stanford, currently the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, 13-time defending ACC champions Virginia and 10-time Big Ten champions Ohio State. Virginia placed 10th at the 2023 NCAA Championships and Ohio State finished 12th at last year's national regatta. The four programs have combined to win nine of the last 14 NCAA championships.
Spectator entry to the park will begin at 7 a.m. and parking is free. Bevo will be available for photo ops from 8-9 a.m. and Texas Cheer, Pom and Hook 'Em from 8:30-11 a.m.
When: Saturday, April 27, 2024
Where: Lake Walter E. Long, Austin, Texas
Field: No. 2 Texas, No. 1 Stanford, No. 12 Virginia, No. 14 Ohio State
Results: HereNow
Regatta Information | Head Coach Media Availability | Texas Rowing Fact Book
Schedule (Tentative)
8:00 a.m. CT – IV Eight: Texas, Stanford
8:10 a.m. CT – I Eight: Texas, Stanford
8:20 a.m. CT – I Eight: Ohio State, Virginia
8:30 a.m. CT – II Eight: Texas, Stanford
8:40 a.m. CT – II Eight: Ohio State, Virginia
8:50 a.m. CT – I Four: Texas, Stanford
9:00 a.m. CT – I Four: Ohio State, Virginia
9:10 a.m. CT – II Four: Texas, Ohio State, Virginia
9:20 a.m. CT – III Eight: Texas, Stanford, Virginia
Last Time Out
On April 13, No. 2 Texas Rowing had four boats earn victories against No. 9 Michigan at Belleville Lake to sweep the Wolverines for the second consecutive year. The Longhorns kicked the morning off with a victory by the First Eight, winning with a time of 6:08.10, more than five seconds ahead of the Michigan I Eight. Racing with the tailwind, Texas was fast through the first half of the race until conditions fell off during the second 1,000 meters and the crew was challenged.
Texas followed that with an open water win from the Second Eight in 6:22.30, with Michigan registering a time of 6:34.24. The Longhorns took advantage of the calm waters in the first portion of the course to move ahead quickly and were able to work through the rough waters that intensified at the end of the course to come away with the dominating win.
In the I Four, the Longhorns took down the Wolverines with another open water victory, crossing the line in 6:59.70 followed by Michigan in 7:10.27.
The Texas II Four completed the sweep, recording a time of 7:05.90 to Michigan's 7:13.07.
A Look at the Longhorns
The eight-time defending Big 12 Conference champion Longhorns return two-time first-team All-American Anna Jensen, as well as fellow 2023 All-Big 12 Team selection Etta Carpender. Three of the four rowers from the national title-winning Four are also back in Abby Dawson, Anna Garrison and Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski. All told, 13 of the 20 rowers and one coxswain who competed at the 2023 National Championship regatta are back for the 2023-24 season.
In addition to the trio from last year's champion Four, returning from the Texas I Eight are Jensen, Carpender and Lanie Nitsch, while the II Eight returnees are coxswain Carly Legenzowski and rowers Nadja Yaroschuk, Hannah Medcalf, Allie Alton, Marg Van der Wal, Taryn Kooyers, Sue Holderness and Amber Harwood.
Big 12 Weekly Honors
Texas II Eight was named the Big 12 Boat of the Week on April 17 after dominating performance at No. 9 Michigan. It marked the second week in a row in which the Longhorns earned the honor.
The Texas II Eight featured sophomore coxswain Amy Werner, as well as junior Sue Holderness, freshman Paula Becher, freshman Rhiannon Luke, sophomore Allie Alton, freshman Phoebe Wise, junior Taryn Kooyers, sophomore Savvy Jerome and junior Anna Garrison.
Texas' Second Eight defeated the Wolverines by open water, crossing the line in 6:22.30, well ahead of the UM boat that finished in 6:34.34. Racing on the 2,000-meter course was impacted by a 15-mph tailwind during the first half of the race. Conditions deteriorated over the final 1,000 meters of the course with rough waters that intensified through the end of the race. The crew was unable to train on the course the day before the race, and despite heading into unknown territory the young crew of mostly freshmen and sophomores was able to come away with a convincing victory.
The Texas First Eight earned the honor on April 10, earning the weekly conference honor after sweeping a pair of races at the San Diego Crew Classic.
Texas' I Eight featured senior coxswain Carly Legenzowski, as well as graduate student Mette Nielsen, graduate student, Lanie Nitsch, senior Anna Jensen, graduate student Etta Carpender, sophomore Marg Van der Wal, senior Parker Illingworth, fifth-year Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski and sophomore Abby Dawson.
Racing in the prestigious Jessop-Whittier Cup Invitational in a field that included Pac-12 powers Washington and California, the Texas I Eight won two races by an average of over four seconds to claim the event victory.
Preseason Accolades
Jensen and Nitsch were named to the inaugural College Rowing Coaches Association Athletes to Watch list.
Jensen, a native of Midland, Mich., is a two-time first-team All-American, one of 10 Longhorns to be named to the first team on multiple occasions. She has rowed in the Texas I Eight in each of her first three seasons on the Forty Acres, helping the Longhorns to team and First Eight national titles in 2021 and 2022. A two-time All-Big 12 selection and the 2021 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Jensen won gold with USRowing at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in the Women's Coxless Four (BW4-).
Nitsch, who hails from McAllen, Texas, has competed in the last three NCAA Championships, rowing in the Four in 2021, Second Eight in 2022 and First Eight in 2023. A three-time Big 12 Champion, she rowed with Team USA at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, winning gold with the Women's Eight (BW8+).
Texas in the Polls
Texas held steady to No. 2 on the latest Pocock Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Rowing Poll. Defending national champion Stanford has held the No. 1 spot throughout the season. Princeton is ranked third and California fourth, while Tennessee jumped 10 spots and is ranked fifth.
Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll Division Rankings – Week 6 (April 24)
1. Stanford
2. TEXAS
3. Princeton
4. California
5. Tennessee
6. Yale
7. Brown
8. Washington
9. Michigan
10. Syracuse
11. Pennsylvania
12. Virginia
13. Rutgers
14. Ohio State
15. Indiana
16. Duke
17. Oregon State
18. Washington State
19. Columbia
20. Harvard
Championship Pedigree
Texas has registered top-eight results in each of the last eight NCAA Championship Regattas:
2023 – 4th (Boat National Title: Four)
2022 – National Champion (Boat National Title: I Eight)
2021 – National Champion (Boat National Title: I Eight)
2020 – No regatta
2019 – 2nd
2018 – 3rd
2017 – 4th
2016 – 8th
2015 – 7th
Defending Conference Champions
Texas enters 2023-24 as the eight-time defending Big 12 Conference Champions. In all, Texas has won 12 of the 14 Big 12 Conference Championships held, placing runner-up in 2013 and fourth in 2014.
Players Mentioned
