The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 3 Rowing’s van der Wal named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, five Longhorns receive All-SEC honors
05.21.2026 | Rowing
Marg van der Wal earned her second SEC Scholar- Athlete of the Year award.
AUSTIN, Texas – Highlighted by senior Marg van der Wal receiving her second SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, five Longhorns from No. 3 Texas Rowing received All-SEC honors, the conference office announced Thursday.
van der Wal, senior Abby Dawson, senior Maya Meschkuleit, junior Lucy Searle and junior Phoebe Wise each garnered All-SEC Team selection. It marks Dawson, Searle, van der Wal and Wise's second-consecutive year lauding All-SEC honors.
van der Wal has received SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in back-to-back seasons after earning the award in 2025. A Groningen, Netherlands, native, van der Wal is a chemistry major with a 3.8175 cumulative GPA. In 2025, van der Wal hauled in SEC Rower of the Year, CRCA First-Team All-America honors and was tabbed a finalist for the CRCA's Athlete of the Year.
All five student-athletes have been key pieces to the Texas First Varsity Eight this season. The Texas First Varsity Eight finished the regular season undefeated with wins at then No. 1 Stanford, No. 19 Michigan, No. 24 Indiana and at the San Diego Crew Classic. The 1V8 finished runner-up at the 2026 SEC Championship and received the No. 2 overall seed at the 2026 NCAA Rowing Championships on May 29-31 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga.
Texas is looking to win its fourth NCAA title over the last six years. Texas won national championships in 2024, 2022 and 2021. Texas finished third overall at last year's national regatta, totaling 118 points. Texas finished fourth at the 2023 national championship with 110 points. Texas has recorded a top-four finish in each of the last eight national championships.
Up Next
Texas is one of 12 at-large selections for this year's NCAA Championships. The championships will be held May 29-31 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga., with North Georgia and the City of Gainesville serving as hosts. Live coverage information will be provided by the NCAA at a later date.
