No. 1 Rowing preview: San Diego Crew Classic – TexasSports.com
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1 Texas Rowing travels to the West Coast for the historic San Diego Crew Classic from March 26-27. Racing will take place over a 2,000-meter course on Fiesta Bay-Crown Point Shores of Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California. The San Diego Crew Classic is largely referred to as America’s premier spring regatta, featuring junior, collegiate, adaptive and masters racing.
Texas’ First Eight is among five boats invited to race for the Collegiate Varsity Jessop-Whittier Cup, competing against Pac-12 powers No. 3 Washington, No. 9 California, No. 16 USC and UCLA.
The Second Eight will compete for the Women’s Collegiate 2V Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy and the Four will race for the Women’s Collegiate Varsity 4+ Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup. The Longhorns will also race a Third Eight boat in the Women’s Open 8+ Carley Copley Cup.
When: March 26-27, 2022
Where: Fiesta Bay-Crown Point Shores of Mission Bay Park, San Diego, Calif.
Results: https://hookem.at/SDcrew22
Regatta Information: https://crewclassic.org/
Tentative Race Schedule
Saturday, March 26
I Eight: Women’s Collegiate Varsity Jessop-Whittier Cup Invitational
12:47 p.m. CT/10:47 a.m. PT – prelim race for lanes in Sunday final (Lane 1)
II Eight: Women’s Collegiate 2V
2:07 p.m. CT/12:07 p.m. PT – Heat 2 of 2 (Lane 1)
Four: Women’s Collegiate Varsity 4+
1:51 pm. CT/11:51 a.m. PT – Heat 2 of 2 (Lane 1)
III Eight: Women’s Open 8+
4:32 p.m. CT/2:32 p.m. PT – prelim race for lanes in Sunday final (Lane 3)
Sunday, March 27
I Eight: Women’s Collegiate Varsity Jessop-Whittier Cup Invitational
7:19 a.m. CT/9:19 a.m. PT
II Eight: Women’s Collegiate 2V
Final 2 – 12:39 p.m. CT/10:39 a.m. PT
Final 1 – 12:47 p.m. CT/10:47 a.m. PT
Four: Women’s Collegiate Varsity 4+
Final 2 – 12:15 p.m. CT/10:15 a.m. PT
Final 1 – 12:23 p.m. CT/10:23 a.m. PT
III Eight: Women’s Open 8+
2:31 p.m. CT/12:31 p.m. PT
Last Time Out
In their first competition of the season, the Longhorns traveled to Dallas for a two-day contest against the then 13th-ranked SMU Mustangs at White Rock Lake. Texas swept all six races, with the First Eight, Second Eight and Four claiming victories on each day of the trip. For the First Eight, the two victories extended the unbeaten streak for the boat to 10-straight races. The Second Eight was dominant in both of their races, taking charge from the start of each and extending their lead throughout. Texas’ Four got out fast in their first race and won by 14.49 seconds, then overcame an early deficit on the second day and eventually pulled away for a win by 18.8 seconds.
A Look at the Longhorns
The defending national champion and six-time defending Big 12 Conference champion Longhorns return four student-athletes who earned CRCA All-American recognition following last year’s title run. Rowers Aspa Christodoulidis, Kaitlin Knifton, Francesca Raggi and coxswain Rachel Rane lead the way for Texas, as well as 2021 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Anna Jensen. All five were integral members of the Texas First Varsity Eight that powered past Stanford and Washington over the final 750 meters of the Grand Final to capture the first title in program history.
All told, 16 of the 20 rowers and all three coxswains who competed in the 2021 National Championship regatta are back in the fold.
Also returning from last year’s champion First Eight boat are Lisa Gutfleisch and Susanna Temming, while returners from the Second Eight crew will be rowers Katelyn Bouthillette, Amber Harwood, Parker Illingworth, Izabela Krakic, Hannah Medcalf, and Samantha Schalk and coxswain Elizabeth Romero. Back from the Four is coxswain Olivia Fogarty and rowers Marlowe Eldridge, Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski and Kathia Nitsch.
Texas in the Polls
For the first time in program history, the Longhorns opened the season as No. 1 in the 2022 Preseason Pocock Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Women’s Rowing Polls, receiving 19 of the 25 first-place votes. The Longhorns have held the top spot in the rankings for five consecutive polls.
Stanford, the runner-up in the team standings at the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championships, ranked second in the poll and received the other six first-place votes, while Washington, Michigan and Virginia rounded out the top five.
Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll Division I Rankings – Week 2 (Mar. 23)
1. TEXAS (16)
2. Stanford (9)
3. Michigan
4. Yale
5. Washington
6. Virginia
7. Ohio State
8. Brown
9. California
10. Rutgers
11. Princeton
12. Duke
13. Syracuse
14. SMU
15. USC
16. UCLA
17. Alabama
18. Indiana
19. Oregon State
20. Tennessee
Championship Pedigree
Texas has registered top-eight results in each of the last six NCAA Championship Regattas with program-best results in five, including each of the last four:
2021 – 1st
2020 – No regatta
2019 – 2nd
2018 – 3rd
2017 – 4th
2016 – 8th
2015 – 7th
Defending Champions
Texas enters 2022 as the six-time defending Big 12 Conference Champions. In all, Texas has won 10 of the 12 Big 12 Conference Championships held, placing runner-up in 2013 and fourth in 2014.
