The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
No. 1 Rowing advances all boats to NCAA Championship A/B Semifinals
05.31.2024 | Rowing
Texas swept its NCAA Championship heats for the fourth straight year.
BETHEL, Ohio – For the fourth consecutive year, No. 1 Texas Rowing swept its NCAA Championship heats on Harsha Lake Friday morning to advance all boats to Saturday's A/B semifinals.
Picking up three victories Friday, the Longhorns dominated competition en route to their seventh straight NCAA Championship with top-two finishes in each heat.
"The three days of this regatta can be a real grind," said head coach Dave O'Neill. "Within the team, we talk about it feeling like an entire season in itself. All three boats won their heats today, so that was a very important step. One focus we had was to be relaxed and calm throughout, and I think that showed. Every boat did what they needed to do to win their heat, so we're feeling good about that."
The Texas I Eight, the top-seed in the event, started the national regatta with an open-water win in the first Division I race of the day. Brown took an early lead and carried it throughout the first 500 meters, but Texas clawed back and overtook the Bears shortly after, fiercely pulling away through the remaining 1,500 meters and crossing the line at 6:48.628. Brown finished second with a final time of 6:55.057 followed by Syracuse (7:02.010), Duke (7:09.488) and Gonzaga (17:19.944).
"The First Eight was really solid," said O'Neill. "They row with a lot of confidence and composure. Etta Carpender and Anna Jensen have a ton of experience, and they do a terrific job driving the boat from the five and six seats."
In Texas' second race of the day, the Texas II brought home the victory after going head-to-head with Pennsylvania through the first 1,000 meters. UT was less than a half-second behind Pennsylvania before taking the lead by over two seconds at 1,500 meters. California came on late, but the Longhorns held off the Golden Bears and won in 7:05.369. California finished second with a final time of 7:08.058 followed by Pennsylvania (7:12.429), Syracuse (7:19.785) and Gonzaga (7:42.848).
"The Second Eight stayed long and powerful throughout, and this was really important as they had a pretty strong headwind," said O'Neill. "They know they have another gear that they'll need to use moving forward."
Accumulating the No. 2 seed in the event, Texas' Four completed the sweep in the morning session with an open-water victory in the second heat. UT captured an early lead over Tennessee in the first 500 meters, but the Volunteers narrowly captivated the lead at the 1000-meter mark before Texas regained its lead for in the remaining 500 meters. The Longhorns crossed the line at 7:43.529 followed by Tennessee (7:47.413), Pennsylvania (8:02.182), Duke (8:06.503) and Boston University (8:30.341).
"We had to reconfigure the Four this week due to an injury that came out of the blue," said O'Neill. "I'm really impressed with the way we have responded and how we went out there and performed. Nadja Yaroschuk sets a great rhythm at the stroke seat, and it was good to see them pull away at the end."
The NCAA Championships continue on Saturday, June 1, with the I Eights A/B semifinals kicking off at 8:36 a.m. CT followed by the II Eight races at 9:24 a.m. and the Fours at 10:12 a.m. Saturday will be available to stream for free on the NCAA's website.
Lineups
I Eight: Carly Legenzowski (C), Mette Nielsen, Lanie Nitsch, Anna Jensen, Etta Carpender, Marg Van der Wal, Abby Dawson, Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski and Amber Harwood
II Eight: Amy Werner (C), Sue Holderness, Paula Becher, Rhiannon Luke, Allie Alton, Phoebe Wise, Parker Illingworth, Taryn Kooyers and Anna Garrison
Four: Janet Goode (C), Nadja Yaroschuk, Phoebe Robinson, Katherine Nordheim and Lucy Searle.
Players Mentioned
