Texas Rowing has started its quest for a third national championship in four seasons. The team just hit the water for the first time this year last week at the “Rust Buster,” featuring Texas, Oklahoma and SMU where Texas was able to compete against other schools as a tune-up before the regular season starts on April 6. 

Going into the regular season, UT rowing is full of hype. It was recently ranked fourth in the Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll behind Stanford, Washington and Princeton. Despite staying in the top five, the No. 4 spot is a drop-off for the team after being ranked first to start the season for the past two years. Its lower ranking can be attributed to its unsuccessful run in the NCAA championships last year, but the individual talent still remains to climb back to the top by the end of this racing season. 

biTexas is coming off eight straight Big 12 titles and the national powerhouse returns a trio of First Eight rowers, to the top boat in its arsenal, in two-time first-team All-American senior Anna Jensen, All-Big 12 Conference honoree graduate student Etta Carpender and graduate student Lanie Nitsch. 

On its first four teams, Texas also returns a plethora of talent. Three of the four rowers from the championship Four boat, sophomore port Abby Dawson, junior port Anna Garrison and fifth-year senior port Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski, are back for this season. Texas is also returning more depth through their II Eight boat. Sophomore port Allie Alton, senior port Amber Harwood, junior port Sue Holderness, junior port Taryn Kooyers, sophomore port Marg Van der Wal and junior port Nadja Yaroschuk as well as senior coxswain Carly Legenzowski, are all returning to round out Texas’ starting lineup.

Jensen and Nitsch were recently named to the College Rowing Coaches Association Athletes watch list. This is the first official publication of the list, highlighting the most impactful rowers from around the country. Texas is tied for the school that has the most rowers represented. 

The talent of Texas Rowing has been at the heart of its success and it extends not just to their time at the University of Texas, but also to the Olympic level. Two of the leaders on the 2021 and 2022 national championship teams, alumnae Kaitlin Knifton and Daisy Mazzio-Manson, were chosen to represent the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Only 13 female rowers are selected for the team.

Knifton was one of the leaders of last year’s team, earning 2023 Big 12 Rower of the Year honors, and her absence will be felt coming into this season. Meanwhile, Mazzio-Mason only spent one year at Texas as a graduate student but was an integral part of the first national championship team. 

The leaders of this year’s team, especially Jensen, will look to continue the legacy of Knifton and Mazzio-Mason as not just Olympic rowers, but as national champions as well. The Longhorns look to take their first step toward the championship this Saturday at Mission Beach in the San Diego Crew Classic.