No. 2 Rowing dominates SEC awards

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas Rowing dominated the 2025 SEC Rowing Awards, highlighted by head coach Dave O'Neill earning Co-SEC Coach of the Year, junior Marg Van der Wal receiving SEC Rower of the Year and Imy Grey garnering SEC Freshman of the Year, the conference office announced Thursday afternoon. In addition, all nine members of Texas' First Varsity Eight were placed on the All-SEC team.

Texas' First Eight crew of Amy Werner (Cox), Sue Holderness, Imy Grey, Marg Van der Wal, Ilva Boone, Phoebe Wise, Lucy McFarlane, Lucy Searle and Abby Dawson lauded All-SEC honors.

O'Neill has been named a conference coach of the year for the fifth-straight year (four Big 12, one SEC) and his ninth in 11 successful seasons with the Longhorns. Under his tutelage, he guided Texas to its 10th-consecutive conference title as Texas clinched the first SEC Rowing Championship on May 11 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The victory marked UT's 14th overall conference crown as the Horns took down No. 4 Tennessee, No. 24 Oklahoma and Alabama. The Longhorns won three of six races at the conference meet and recorded a top-two finish in each race.

Van der Wal builds upon her sensational junior campaign rowing at the six-seat, becoming the 11th Longhorn to be selected as a conference rower of the year. The Groningen, Netherlands, native was previously awarded the SEC's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for rowing on May 11 and also took home SEC Rower of the Week on April 16. Van der Wal, along with Grey, steered the Longhorn First Varsity Eight to an electric, come-from-behind victory at the conference meet to secure the 2025 SEC Championship. Texas won in 6:12.420, edging out Tennessee over the final 500 meters of the race.

Grey is the seventh Longhorn in program history to be named either a conference freshman or newcomer of the year. Last season, current Longhorn sophomore Rhiannon Luke was tabbed the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year. The Sydney, Australia, product is one of two Texas freshmen in the I Eight crew this season, marking the first time Texas has had two freshmen in the First Eight since 2019. She rowed at the seven-seat at the SEC Championship, helping the Longhorns capture the first-ever SEC crown.

Up next, Texas is set to compete at the 2025 NCAA Championships on May 30-June 1 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Texas is looking for its fourth national title over the last five years after hoisting the national trophy in 2024.

Key: *=SEC, #=Big 12, &=Conference USA

Conference Rower of the Year (Texas All-Time)

2025 – Marg Van der Wal*

2024 – Anna Jensen#

2023 – Kaitlin Knifton#

2022 – Francesca Raggi#

2021 – Alex Watson#

2019 – Milica Slijepcevic#

2018 – Emily Froehlich#

2017 – Gia Doonan#

2015 – Gia Doonan#

2012 – Laurel McCaig#