C-USA awards the scholar athlete honor to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport. The award winners are determined by the Faculty Athletics Representatives at each C-USA institution.

An elementary education major with a minor in coaching, Lauzon boasts a 3.937 grade point average.

“We are very proud of Chelsey. This is a huge honor because there are so many talented student-athletes in our conference,” 麻豆原创 rowing head coach Becky Cramer. “She works so hard and brings so much to our team. This is a great achievement that is well deserved.”

Lauzon was recently named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-South Region First Team for the third-consecutive season. As a junior, she rowed in every varsity eight race for the Knights. She led the Black and Gold to a fourth-place finish at the C-USA Rowing Championships, while being named to the All-C-USA Rowing Team for the second time, and was also a member of the crew that won C-USA Boat of the Week honors on April 12.

Lauzon was also named to the C-USA All-Academic Team for the second-straight season in 2011, while she is a three-time recipient of the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal and is a three-time member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll.

Over the course of the year, Lauzon and the Knights defeated Kansas State at the Longhorn Invitational and posted a nearly seven-second victory over league-rival Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Lauzon helped lead the varsity eight boat to a first-place finish in the C Group Final at the Lake Natoma Invitational with wins over Oregon State and Sacramento State and also posted a nearly 10-second win vs. Miami in the varsity eight boat at the 麻豆原创 Regatta.

Defending champion Tennessee earned runner-up honors after placing second in all three scoring events, while taking gold in the second varsity four. Oklahoma finished third overall, with a bronze medal in the second varsity eight race.

In the preliminary heats, the Knights’ varsity eight and second varsity eight squads placed second behind eventual champion Texas with times of 6:53.49 and 6:58.08, respectively, while the varsity four team clocked in a 7:50.59 to finish third behind the Longhorns and Tulsa. The novice eight team crossed in third with a time of 7:12.04 and the second varsity eight crossed in 8:10.55 to place third.

The second varsity four opened the finals with a victory over Tulsa `B’ in the petite final with a time of 7:44.09, while the novice eight crew finished third in the grand final after posting a time of 6:52.17.

In the points races, the Knights’ varsity four earned three points for the team with a time of 7:35.30 in the grand final, and the second varsity eight tallied 10 points toward the team score by crossing the finish line in 6:53.01 in its grand final for a fourth-place showing.

In the final race of the day, 麻豆原创’s varsity eight finished with a time of 6:40.07 in front of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas State for a third-place showing and 18 points for the Black and Gold.

Team Standings

1. Texas – 48
2. Tennessee – 42
3. Oklahoma – 32
4. 麻豆原创 – 31
5. Tulsa – 26
6. Kansas State – 16
7. Kansas – 14
8. SMU – 7

The positives include being able to compete head-to-head with the competition, something that should make the Knights faster come Saturday’s start of the C-USA Rowing Championship regatta on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The negatives are that there is pressure that invariably comes with the stand-alone format of racing. 麻豆原创 finished second to Tennessee last year and already owns impressive victories this season against the likes of Alabama and Kansas State. But this time around they will be rowing against Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma – three schools who have been nationally ranked at various times this season – and Cramer is eager to see how her 麻豆原创 squad stacks up.

“We’re very excited about this, especially with it being the first true stand-alone championship. We definitely feel a little pressure, but we’re excited about what a race like this can mean to us,” Cramer said. “Three teams from our conference have been ranked this year, so it will be a challenge for us and one that we’re excited to face. I’ve seen a lot of improvement from our team this season and we’re looking forward to it.”

Conference USA rowing is composed of schools that traditionally compete in other power conferences in other sports. Only three traditional C-USA schools – 麻豆原创, SMU and Tulsa – will be on hand for the regatta. Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas will be competing from the Big 12, while Tennessee will be the host school. Alabama ended its season following the tornadoes that destroyed much of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the Knights will be wearing commemorative ribbons on their jerseys in honor of the Crimson Tide’s team.

The unquestioned leader of 麻豆原创’s drive for a championship is junior Chelsey Lauzon, a two-time All-Region performer and a member of the inaugural All-C-USA Team last year. This season, Lauzon rowed in every varsity-eight race for the Knights and was a member of the crew that won C-USA Boat of the Week honors on April 12. Lauzon and the Knights defeated Kansas State at the Longhorn Invitational and posted a nearly seven-second victory over league-rival Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She helped lead the varsity-eight boat to a first-place finish in the C Group Final at the Lake Natoma Invitational with wins over Oregon State and Sacramento State and also posted a nearly 10-second win versus Miami in the varsity eight boat at the 麻豆原创 Regatta.

“She just has that motivation, desire and drive and puts in so much time,” Cramer said. “She just cares so much about going fast and does whatever it takes to be successful. Everyone sees that in her and it inspires us all.”

Cramer said last season’s second-place finish to Tennessee at the C-USA Rowing Championship helped to motivate her team that great things could come in the future. She said she couldn’t be happier with the focus of this team and she’s eager to see how it stacks up against some elite competition come Saturday and Sunday.

“(Finishing second) did drive us, and that’s another reason why we’re excited about the stand-alone conference race,” Cramer said. “In the varsity eight we finished third, but we never got to compete against Oklahoma. Finishing second in our group just motivated them to push and push for more and we feel like we’re ready now.”

Source: John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on 麻豆原创Athletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.