The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championship
No. 1 Rowing preview: 2024 Big 12 Championship
05.17.2024 | Rowing
The eight-time defending champion Longhorns travel to Sarasota, Fla. for the Big 12 Rowing Championship.
No. 1 Texas Rowing travels to Sarasota, Fla. for the Big 12 Championship on Sunday, May 19. The regatta will be held at Nathan Benderson Park, the site where the Longhorns back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022.
Texas is the eight-time defending Big 12 Conference champion and has won 12 of the 14 Big 12 Conference Championships, finishing as the runners-up in 2013 and fourth in 2014. The championship regatta will include RV UCF, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and West Virginia and conference affiliates No. 5 Tennessee and No. 19 Alabama.
When: Sunday, May 19, 2024
Where: Nathan Benderson Park, Sarasota, Fla.
Field: No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 19 Alabama, RV UCF, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, West Virginia
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Results: HereNow
Regatta Information | Texas Rowing Fact Book
Tentative Race Schedule
Sunday, May 19 (Finals Only)
8:00 a.m. CT – III Four (Exhibition)
8:15 a.m. CT – III Eight
8:30 a.m. CT – II Four
8:45 a.m. CT – I Four
9:00 a.m. CT – II Eight
9:15 a.m. CT – I Eight
10:00 a.m. CT – Award Ceremony
Scoring for Big 12 Championship
Race 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
First Eight 48 42 36 30 24 18 12 6
Second Eight 32 28 24 20 16 12 8 4
First Four 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
Second Four 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Third Eight 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Big 12 Championship History
Texas has won eight consecutive Big 12 titles and 12 of the 14 Big 12 Championship regattas overall. The Longhorns swept all grand finals races at the last eight Big 12 Championships. In all, Texas has swept the regatta 10 times and is the only program to sweep the Big 12 Championship.
The Big 12 Championship began as a three-team regatta in 2009 (Texas, Kansas and Kansas State) before expanding to four teams with the addition of Oklahoma in 2010. The championship grew to five schools with the league's addition of West Virginia in 2013.
In January 2014, the Big 12 Conference announced invitations to Alabama and Tennessee to compete at the Big 12 Championships beginning in 2015. With the addition of UCF this year, the championship regatta will feature eight teams for the first time.
While all eight participating schools are eligible to win the NCAA automatic-qualifying bid, only Texas, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, UCF and West Virginia can win the Big 12 team title.
Last Time Out
Racing against many of the top programs in the nation, No. 2 Texas Rowing collected three victories in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Longhorn Invite at Lake Walter E. Long on Saturday April 27. The Longhorns hosted top-ranked and defending national champion Stanford, No. 12 Virginia and No. 14 Ohio State with Texas tallying wins in the First Eight, Second Eight and Third Eight.
Racing was impacted by high crosswinds on the course of 10-14 mph with gusts of 20 mph, forcing an adjusted schedule in which the teams' three NCAA boats – First Eight, Second Eight, First Four – competed in two heats instead of one grand final.
With the adjusted schedule, Texas raced head-to-head against Stanford in heat one of each event with Ohio State and Virginia racing in heat two. Stake boats were utilized and there were no buoy lines.
The regatta kicked off with Texas and Stanford racing their fourth eight's. The Cardinal took the win in 6:30.561 to the Longhorns' 6:45.996.
Texas came away with the victory in the I Eight, crossing the line in 6:00.969 to win by open water over a Stanford crew that posted a time of 6:03.353. The Cardinal were in front at the midway mark, but Texas surged over the final half of the course to top Stanford. Ohio State was the winner in heat two, posting a time of 6:20.922 with Virginia taking second in 6:26.766.
The Longhorns added a second win with a dominating performance by the II Eight. Texas posted a time of 6:13.247 to finish almost six seconds ahead of Stanford's 6:19.247. Ohio State was the victor in heat two with a time of 6:35.060, followed by Virginia in 6:44.292.
In the I Four, Texas was in front at the midway point, but Stanford found another gear over in the final half of the race, finishing in 6:52.990 with Texas the runner-up in 6:55.271. The second heat saw Ohio State cross the line first in 7:14.980 and Virginia posting a time of 7:17.805.
The Longhorns added a runner-up finish in the II Four, finishing in 7:15.355. Virginia picked up the win 7:11.565, while Ohio State took third in 7:21.940.
Texas closed out the regatta with a come-from-behind victory in the III Eight. The Longhorns were trailed the Cardinal at the midway point by about a boat length, but soon overtook the Stanford boat to win by open water, 6:38.688 to 6:43.362. Virginia placed third with a time of 7:06.697.
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
The Longhorns earned Big 12 Boat of the Week accolades following all three of their regular season regattas this year.
On May 1, the Texas I Eight brought home the honor defeating then-No. 1 and defending national champion Stanford at the Longhorn Invite.
The 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, sophomore Abby Dawson, fifth-year Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski and senior Amber Harwood.
UT defeated defending First Eight national champion Stanford in head-to-head competition at the Longhorn Invite, while also topping the times of Virginia and Ohio State.
Texas came away with the victory, crossing the line in 6:00.969 to win by open water over a Stanford crew that posted a time of 6:03.353. The Cardinal were in front at the midway mark, but Texas surged over the final half of the course to top Stanford. Ohio State was the winner in heat two, posting a time of 6:20.922 with Virginia taking second in 6:26.766.
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, collecting 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 climbed to No. 1 in the rankings following the victories over Stanford at the Longhorn Invite and has held steady in that spot for three-straight weeks. Defending national champion Stanford is second in the recent poll and Princeton is ranked third. California and Tennessee round out the top five.
Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll Division Rankings – Week 9 (May 15)
1. TEXAS
2. Stanford
3. Princeton
4. California
5. Tennessee
6. Yale
7. Brown
8. Washington
9. Michigan
10. Syracuse
11. Pennsylvania
12. Ohio State
13. Rutgers
14. Indiana
15. Duke
16. Virginia
17. Washington State
18. Columbia
19. Alabama
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
