No. 2 Rowing preview: at No. 1 Stanford

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas Rowing closes out the regular season at No. 1 Stanford at 11:20 a.m. CT Saturday, April 25, at Redwood Shores in Redwood City, Calif.

Race Schedule

11:20 a.m.: 2V4
11:40 a.m.: 1V4
12:00 p.m.: 2V8
12:20 p.m.: 1V8
12:40 p.m.: 3V4

History vs. Stanford

The last five NCAA National Champions have been either Texas or Stanford with the Longhorns winning three during that stretch dating back to the 2021 season. Texas took home the first-place trophy in 2024, 2022 and 21, while Stanford won in 2025 and 2023.
Texas will been racing Stanford in Redwood Shores for the first time since the 2005 season. The Horns have raced in Redwood Shores three times in history: 2005, 2001 and 2000.
It marks the third-consecutive year Texas and Stanford have raced during the regular season. Stanford participated in the 2025 and 2024 Longhorn Invitational's in Austin, Texas.

Last Time Out

Each of Texas' boats remain undefeated on the season heading into this weekend's competition at No. 1 Stanford.

Texas swept 10 races on its road trip to Big Ten Country, downing No. 24 Michigan (April 11) and No. 24 Indiana (April 9).

On April 11, Texas swept five races at No. 19 Michigan at Belleville Lake in Belleville, Mich. Texas began competition with a victory by the 3v8 in 6:51.300, defeating the Michigan 4v8 (2nd-7:06.500) and Michigan 3v8 (3rd-7:08.800). The Longhorns' First Four picked up the second win of the day after finishing in a convincing 7:24.600 ahead of Michigan, which clocked in at 7:45.200.
The Texas II Eight brought home a victory after winning in 6:32.100. Michigan's II Eight finished runner-up in 6:47.300.
Texas' First Varsity Eight secured an open-water victory after finishing in a flying 6:15.800. Michigan's 1v8 clocked in at 6:33.100. In the final race of the regatta, the Texas Second Four secured the clean sweep with a first-place finish in 7:25.900 while Michigan finished second in 7:30.800.
Texas clean swept its five races at No. 24 Indiana on April 9 in Bloomington, Ind.
The Second Four commenced the dual at Indiana with a victory by the Second Four in 7:50.200, ahead of Indiana who finished in 8:19.200.
Texas cruised to an open-water victory in the I Four, clocking in at 7:34.700 ahead of Indiana (8:12.600).
The Longhorns continued their dominance Thursday morning with its third win of the day by the Second Varsity Eight. The Horns emptied their tank and finished in 6:51.700 in front of the Hoosiers (7:18.00). Texas picked up its fourth win in the First Eight. The Longhorns finished in 6:35.500 with Indiana recording a final time of 6:57.900. In the final race of the day, Texas' Third Eight won in 7:14.300. Indiana registered a final time of 7:30.900.

Longhorns Earn SEC Honors

Marg van der Wal and Nike Utesch received weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference (SEC ), on April 16. van der Wal was named SEC Rower of the Week, and Utesch earned SEC Freshman of the Week.
It's van der Wal's second career SEC Rower of the Week selection while it's Utesch's first career weekly accolade. van der Wal, the 2025 SEC Rower of the Year, was last named SEC Rower of the Week on April 16, 2025.
van der Wal and Utesch are the third and fourth Longhorns to collect conference weekly praise this season, joining Abby Dawson and Leila Gaston.
van der Wal and Utesch powered Texas to a dominant week in Big Ten country on April 9-11, leading Texas to a clean sweep in 10 races against No. 24 Indiana (April 9) and No. 19 Michigan (April 11). The Longhorns have won every race they've competed in this season after sweeping competition at the San Diego Crew Classic on March 28-29.

Athletes to Watch

Seniors Maya Meschkuleit, Marg Van der Wal and Amy Werner were named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association's (CRCA) Athletes to Watch list prior to the season.
Van der Wal and Werner were integral pieces in Texas' 2025 First Varsity Eight, powering the Longhorns to a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAA National Championships. Under their leadership, Texas collected its eighth-consecutive top-four finish at the national regatta. The I Eight recorded a podium finish on June 1, 2025, placing third in 6:09.848. With their efforts, the UT First Eight has posted a podium finish in six of the last seven NCAA Championships. In the final race of the national meet, the I Eight battled hard to seal Texas' third-place team finish. Van der Wal and Werner also helped Texas capture the first-ever SEC Rowing Championship after throwing down a clutch, come-from-behind performance to win the I Eight and clinch the conference title. Texas extended its conference championship winning streak to 10-straight while winning the program's 14 overall conference crown.
It marks the second-consecutive year in which Van der Wal landed on the CRCA's Athletes to Watch list. The Groningen, Netherlands, native returns for her senior year in 2026 after being selected as a finalist for the CRCA's Athlete of the Year in 2025. A two-time CRCA First-Team All-American, Van der Wal was instrumental in Texas' 2025 SEC Championship and third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In addition to being named a 2025 finalist for the CRCA's Athlete of the Year, Van der Wal was also named a CRCA First-Team All-American, SEC Rower of the Year, SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, First-Team All-SEC and SEC Rower of the Week (April 16). Van der Wal is the 11th Longhorn in program history to be selected to the All-America First Team multiple times. Over the summer, Van der Wal and Texas teammate Ilva Boone (Netherlands 2-) won gold in the Women's Pair at the U-23 World Championships in Poland.
Werner was named a 2025 CRCA First-Team All-America selection for the first time in her career. Werner also garnered First-Team All-SEC recognition last season as well.
Meschkuleit transferred to Texas from Yale during summer 2025. It marks her second-consecutive season being named to the CRCA's Athletes to Watch list. The Mississauga, Ontario, native was a 2025 National Champion in the First Varsity Eight for the Bulldogs and sat in the three-seat of that boat, setting a championship-record time of 6:06.138. Meschkuleit earned CRCA First-Team All-America honors and Second-Team All-Ivy League accolades in 2025. She sat in the seven seat of the Varsity Eight that won a silver medal at the Ivy League Championship. She brings a plethora of international experience to the Forty Acres after rowing for Team Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics and earning a silver medal in the Coxed Eight. She made her debut for the Canadian Eight at the 2024 Rowing World Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland, guiding Canada to a gold medal. She competed at the senior World Rowing Championships for the first time in 2023, racing to a sixth-place finish in the C final of the pair with Caileigh Filmer.

In the Rankings

Texas is ranked No. 2 in the country in this week's CRCA Coaches Poll, receiving 10 first-place votes.
Texas was ranked as the preseason No. 3 team in the country according to the poll, which was released on Feb. 11. It marked the ninth-consecutive year Texas was ranked inside the top-four in the initial poll and the 11th-straight time UT has garnered a top-eight preseason ranking.

Up Next

Texas heads to the 2026 SEC Championship on May 10 at Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ilva Boone

Abby Dawson

Leila Gaston

Maya Meschkuleit

Nike Utesch

Marg Van der Wal

Amy Werner

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics