The Texas Longhorns women’s rowing team won its fourth NCAA National Championship in six years at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga. Texas took home individual race national titles in the I Eight and I Four.
The Horns entered the event as the No. 3 seed, but were able to overcome No. 1 seed Tennessee and No. 2 Stanford. All three had a chance at the title going into the final race of the championship, the I Varsity Eight. UT dominated the race, with a time of 5:47.706. That was 10.252 seconds faster than Texas’ best qualifying time of 5:57.958.
The Longhorns finished with 130 points, ahead of defending national champion Stanford, which finished second with 125 points, and SEC champion Tennessee, which finished third with 119 points. Texas lost to the Vols in the SEC championships and vowed to get better.
Coach Dave O’Neill, who has guided Texas to all four national titles, said after finishing runner-up to Tennessee at the SEC Championship on May 10, “We’ll regroup and get better from here. While disappointments and losses never feel good in the moment, it’s times like these where the most growth happens. We’ll learn from this and move forward, and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.”
The 130-point total matched the UT program record from 2024 and is tied for third among all teams since 2013 when the current scoring system was established.
This is UT’s second national title of the year. Men’s Swimming and Diving won the national title in late March. Texas now owns 70 all-time National Championships, including 66 NCAA titles.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Light the Tower! Texas Longhorns rowing wins fourth NCAA championship
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
