鈥淚 know that the team has put in so much work this year and to see it come to fruition in a conference championship is so amazing. I鈥檓 really excited for what鈥檚 next for this team,鈥� says Mara Allen, rowing head coach.

The historic championship win marks the program鈥檚 first Big 12 title, the first conference title since winning the American Athletic Conference for five straight years from 2015 to 2019.

The day started with an exhibition race of the Third 4+ boats between 麻豆原创 and Old Dominion. The Black and Gold set the tone for the rest of the race, topping the Monarch鈥檚 with a time of 07:50.026 to their 08:28.138, a 38-second lead. The first winning boat of the day consisted of junior coxswain聽Eliza Shaffer聽alongside freshman聽Sidney Norman, freshman聽Jennifer Durnall, sophomore聽Riley Vincent聽and freshman聽Kendall Bovino.

To begin the point-qualifying boat races, the Third 8+ continued the momentum claiming first place with a 15.8-second advantage over the nearest boat. The crew was coxed by senior聽Elsa Cassellius聽with sophomore聽Landyn Williams, sophomore聽Izzy Bate, freshman聽Morgan Northey, junior聽Sophia Keller, sophomore聽Alexa Konowal, sophomore聽Karin Kudmani, sophomore聽Makayla Baxley聽and junior聽Alina Tasman.

The Knights continued to dominate the competition as the Second 4+ crossed the line with plenty of open water to spare, claiming first place. The crew composed of freshman coxswain聽Vianna Smith聽along with sophomore聽Leighann Franklin, sophomore聽Lexi Sanchez, senior聽Meagan Lukavec聽and sophomore聽Vilma Kangasm盲ki聽slotted in with a time of 07:33.980.

麻豆原创 kept the pace in the First 4+ race, crossing the finish first with a time of 07:22.231. In the boat sat junior coxswain聽Sophia Tursi, junior聽Cate Maloney, freshman聽Sofia Palacios, freshman聽Kesha Bruinette聽and sophomore聽Amber Tulloch.

The first of two races remaining, the Second 8+ kept the pressure on all the crews in the race, finishing with a 16-second advantage over the next closest boat. The boat, finishing at a time of 06:35.960, consisted of senior coxswain聽Julia Going聽alongside freshman聽Sofia Scott, junior聽Natasjia Voulanas, senior Claire Kaminiski, sophomore聽Maja Misljenovic, junior聽Veronica Rush, senior聽Bella Montalvo, sophomore聽Ines Martin聽and junior聽Amalie Thorsen.

With a clean sweep and Big 12 title just 2000 meters away, the First 8+ would not show any weakness finishing the race claiming the last first-place victory for the Knights. The crew of nine recorded their best time all season at 06:22.086. The clinching crew was coxed by junior聽Audrey Vilendrer, freshman聽Sofia Naboni Nevado, fifth year聽Madlen Markova, sophomore聽Brigitte Kappler, sophomore聽Reese Springer, freshman聽Lucy Buckingham, fifth year聽Elisa Faiola, freshman聽Luna Kuiper聽and junior聽Hannah Lovejoy.

The Black and Gold completed the race notching 84 points on the day. Following the Knights is Tulsa at 65 points, Kansas with 52, Kansas State with 49, Old Dominioin with 24 and finally West Virginia at 19.

This history-making race marks the second time this season that the Black and Gold have swept all races at Nathan Benderson Park, the first time being the Sarasota 2k earlier this spring.

Along with the Big 12 Champions trophy, several individual awards were given out to the rowers that made the 2025 All Big 12 Team. Those athletes include Faiola, Kuiper, Buckingham, Lovejoy, Markova and Kappler.

With the Big 12 title claimed, the Knights receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship just two weeks away. 麻豆原创 will travel to Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. on Friday, May 30 to Sunday, June 1 to compete against the best crews in the nation.

These athletes exemplify the spirit and dedication of Knight Nation. Watch the events on NBC or stream via Peacock as you cheer them on.

Samantha Bosco

Event dates: Sept. 4

Born with a born with a bowed tibia in her right leg, Samantha Bosco, began cycling with her dad at 7 years old. At 11, she underwent three years of surgeries to fix her leg-length discrepancy from the bowed tibia. The surgery to lengthen her right leg two and a half inches didn鈥檛 go as planned, eventually leaving her with permanent damage to her leg.

Unable to ride a bike after the surgeries, Bosco switched sports, going on to receive a full athletic scholarship with the Knights. From 2005-07, she rowed for two seasons in the V8, V4 and JV8 boats. However, the damage to her leg led to her retiring from the sport after her sophomore season.

An adapted bike allowed her to participate in road races. Two years after her return to her bike, she discovered paracycling. She found success in the sport, reaching her first world championship in 2013 before earning a pair of bronze medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games. In 2019, after discovering nerve damage and still competing at a high level, she was nominated for the Best Female Athlete with a Disability award at the ESPYs. Three days after being named to the Team USA roster for the 2021 Tokyo Games, Bosco suffered a traumatic brain injury and two skull fractures, forcing her out of the competition. In her return, she won every paracycling road race she entered in 2022, becoming a double world champion in Baie-Comeau, Canada in August of that year.

Kyle Coon 鈥�13

Event dates: Sept. 1-2

Coon, a communication alum, will compete in the Paralympic triathlon after secured his place by finishing third in the World Triathlon Para Series Montreal. His impressive performance in the race, which included a 760-meter swim, 20.2-kilometer bike, and 5-kilometer run, earning him the honor of representing Team USA in Paris.

He also represented Team USA in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, where he made his first Olympic appearance and placed fifth. A lifelong competitive athlete, Coon was a member of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Wrestling Club and a group exercise instructor for 麻豆原创鈥檚 Recreation and Wellness Center during his studies.

At 10 months old, Coon was diagnosed with bilateral sporadic retinoblastoma, the most common form of eye cancer for children. By the time he turned 7, both of his eyes had been surgically removed. Shortly after, Coon鈥檚 father introduced him to Erik Weihenmayer, a blind extreme athlete who inspired the young boy to continue to stay active.

Malacchi Esdale

Event dates: July 24, 25 and 27

Esdale, a former 麻豆原创 student, will compete in rugby for Team USA. After becoming a professional rugby player in 2017, he was appointed as a travel reserve for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Esdale discovered rugby in by playing for the Naples Bears in Florida. After attending ASA College in New York and the University of Miami, he transferred to 麻豆原创, where he joined the Rugby Club 鈥� Men鈥檚 Team and honed his skills.

Sarai Linder

Event dates: July 25, 28 and 31; Aug. 3, 6, 9 and 10

Former 麻豆原创 women鈥檚 soccer defender Sarai Linder will represent her nation of Germany. She is one of three 麻豆原创 women鈥檚 soccer alums to compete at the Olympics, joining USA鈥檚 Michelle Akers 鈥�89 (1996 Atlanta) and Brazil鈥檚 Aline Reis 鈥�11 (2016 Rio).

Linder, spent the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign with the Knights, playing seven matches. She capped her season by earning First Team All-American Athletic Conference honors, All-AAC Rookie Team accolades, and 2020-21 AAC All-Academic Team honors.

Julie Poulsen 鈥�20

Event dates: July 28 and 30; Aug. 1

Poulsen will represent her home county of Denmark in the women鈥檚 four portion of rowing.

The 麻豆原创 communication alum began rowing at 10 when her mother took her to a local club. Poulsen is one of the most decorated 麻豆原创 rowers in program history. She is one of three Knights to be named a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All-American. She was named First Team All-American Athletic Conference three times (2018, 2019, 2021) and earned CRCA National Scholar Athlete and American Athletic Conference All-Academic honors in four straight years from 2018-21.

鈥淢y days at 麻豆原创 has taught me a lot of lessons, which has played a big part of who I am today,鈥� Poulsen says. 鈥淎n important lesson I learned at 麻豆原创 was to be less timid of challenges. We were often thrown big challenges we didn鈥檛 think we could overcome, but we always would. This has made me believe that there is no challenge that is too big, and it has made me so much more tough than I was before.鈥�

Viktorija Senkute 鈥�18

Event dates: July 27-Aug. 3

Senkute will compete for Team Lithuania in women鈥檚 single sculls for rowing.麻豆原创鈥檚 rowing team won four American Athletic Conference championships while the interdisciplinary studies student-athlete attended the university (2015-18). She earned a CRCA All-Region nod in 2018 as well as First Team All-American Athletic Conference first team honors in 2017 and 2018 and second team recognitions in 2015 and 2016.

鈥淏efore coming to 麻豆原创 I didn’t know how to be a teammate; I didn鈥檛 know how to fight as one. 麻豆原创 taught me so many things about what it’s like to be on a team,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n Lithuania, you have to choose one path in college 鈥� sports or education. 麻豆原创 allowed me to combine both and experience a culture and life I would have never dreamed about.鈥�

Kristen Thomas 鈥�16

Event dates: July 28-30

Thomas, a theatre studies alum, is a rugby traveling reserve for the Team USA. She previously represented Team USA as co-captain in the 2020 Summer Olympics, helping the team achieve a top 10 finish.

Thomas began her rugby career at 麻豆原创 in 2011, joining the Rugby Club 鈥� Women鈥檚 Team. Her exceptional talent was quickly recognized, leading to a call-up to the national team just two years later.

鈥溌槎乖� was pretty instrumental in developing me as a player,鈥� Thomas said in a 2021 article. 鈥淥ur coach, Raoul Besse, really harped on our skills. The physicality of the game I think I get a lot from him because you need to be physical in a contact sport. He was the first one to nominate me for the under-20 national team and if he hadn鈥檛 done that, I don鈥檛 know if I would be where I am today.鈥�

The University of Louisville claimed the title, sweeping all six grand finals. The Cardinals totaled 158 points and earn an NCAA Championship berth. The Knights scored 136 points to easily out-distance third-place UConn.

麻豆原创鈥檚 runner-up finish was boosted by a second-place finish in the varsity eight. Following the championship meet, the American Athletic Conference awards were handed out. The Knights鈥� Lauren Aiello and Ginni Dunlop were each chosen as first-team all-conference honorees. Meanwhile, Camille Everett and Calena Illan were named second-team all-conference.

After being seeded first in every race after the time trials, Louisville was fast out of the gate and dominated the field, winning every event on the day. The Cardinals fastest finish on the day was the varsity eight, which crossed the line in 6:36.796 to ensure the championship for the Cardinals.

Louisville also won the Grand Final in the Third Varsity Four (7:51.943), Second Varsity Four (7:33.853), Third Varsity Eight (7:06.013), Varsity Four (7:28.307), and Second Varsity Eight (6:44.430).

Final Team Scores

1. Louisville 158 points
2. 麻豆原创 136 points
3. UConn 111 points
4. Temple 109 points
5. Rutgers 101 points
6. Villanova 69 points
7. SMU 52 points

All-American Athletic Conference First Team

All-American Athletic Conference Second Team

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.

If an average score was compiled for 麻豆原创’s 16 sports overall, the figure would have been 969, two points higher than a 967 set in 2008-09. However, all-sport averages are unofficial, and the NCAA only recognizes averages per sport.

Football wasn’t the only 麻豆原创 team to sit near the C-USA APR pinnacle.

Meanwhile, none of 麻豆原创’s teams are below the 925 threshold for the fourth year in a row. 麻豆原创 has never had a team penalized for low APR standings. The APR is a matter taken extremely seriously by the NCAA as teams that score below a multi-year 925 and have a student leave school academically ineligible can lose up to 10 percent of their scholarships.

The APR provides a real-time “snapshot” of a team’s academic success each semester by looking at current academic progress of every student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation as factors in the rate calculation and provides a much clearer picture of the current academic culture in each sport.

The APR is the fulcrum upon which the entire academic-reform structure rests. Developed as a more real-time assessment of teams’ academic performance than the six-year graduation-rate calculation provides, the APR awards two points each term to student-athletes who meet academic-eligibility standards and who remain with the institution.

A team’s APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible.

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.

“Being on the water and being able to see the crowd was really exciting,” head coach Becky Cramer said. “I know the team is really appreciative of all the support it received today.”

The Black and Gold placed first in the varsity eight, second varsity four, novice four and varsity four events, while placing second in the novice eight race.

During the regatta, the Knights’ eight seniors, Stephanie Carillo, Stephanie Galo, Monica Larkin, Liz Robinson, Samantha Sarff, Dayna Bentel, Brittany Skidmore and Leah VanLear, were honored for their hard work and dedication to the 麻豆原创 rowing program.

“Our seniors, this year in particular, have seen a lot of change in the program and have grown and been a stable force for us despite all of that change. They bring a lot of maturity to the squad and it’s great to have them help bring perspective.”

In the opening event, the Knights’ varsity eight A squad set the tone for the entire regatta as it defeated Miami by a 9.7 second margin to claim first-place honors. 麻豆原创’s varsity eight B team crossed the finish line just one second behind the Hurricanes in third place, while Jacksonville placed fourth.

“The team stayed really focused and trained hard all week, despite having finals and everything else going on in their lives during that time,” Cramer said. “They have been working all season to push out bigger margins. They just show up every day and work hard.”

In the second varsity four event, the Black and Gold’s A squad once again claimed top honors with a time of 7:39.3, while the B squad followed closely behind in second place in a time of 7:44.2. Stetson rounded out the field in third place with a time of 7:52.2.

麻豆原创’s novice eight boat finished just behind the Hurricanes in its event, before the novice four team had its A and B boats finish one-two with times of 8:20.7 and 8:31.3, respectively in their event. Miami finished third with a time of 8:58.0 and the Knights’ C squad concluded the race in fourth.

In the final event of the day, 麻豆原创’s varsity four B boat crossed in a time of 7:38.8 to claim first-place honors. Miami’s B boat finished in second, while the Knights’ A squad posted a 7:52.9 time to place third. The Hurricane’s A team rounded out the field in a time of 8:02.7.

麻豆原创 returns to action May 14 when it competes for the Conference USA Championship in Oak Ridge, Tenn., before taking part in the Oak Ridge Invitational May 15.

麻豆原创 Regatta Results

Varsity 8+

Second Varsity 4+

Novice 8+

Novice 4+

Varsity 4+

1. 麻豆原创 B – 7:38.8
2. Miami B – 7:43.7
3. 麻豆原创 A – 7:52.9
4. Miami A – 8:02.7

A member of the GMS Rowing Center team, Robinson, along with Kim Hopewell, Lauren Nelson and Devery Karz, defeated the field in a 6:47.382. U.S. Rowing Development Camp – University of Wisconsin crossed second in a 6:52.730, followed by Penn A.C. in a 7:00.724.

The World Rowing Under 23 Championships showcase up-and-coming athletes who are too old to compete at the junior level but are still in need of further development to rank among top senior elite rowers. Held for the first time in 1976 in Macon, France, under the title “Seniors Match,” it eventually became the “Nations Cup” in 1992. FISA’s 2005 Extraordinary Congress in Dubrovnik, Croatia, voted to upgrade the World Rowing Under 23 Regatta to world rowing championship status. The first official World Rowing Under 23 Championships were raced in 2004. Approximately 600 athletes from 40 countries compete annually.

During 麻豆原创’s 2010 campaign, Robinson helped lead the varsity eight team to second-place honors at the inaugural Conference USA Rowing Championships. The varsity eight squad also claimed a fourth-place South Region finish at the South/Central Regional Championship held in conjunction with the C-USA event, and 11th place overall honors at the regatta.

The Knights’ second novice eight squad kicked off the day with a win over Alabama coming in at 8:42.9 with the Crimson Tide following at 8:56.1.

麻豆原创 raced both Miami and Alabama in the varsity eight event and kept up the winning streak. The Black and Gold finished in 7:36.6. Alabama placed second with a time of 7:42.9 and Miami came in third at 7:56.3

The novice eight squad came in second place just two seconds behind Alabama with a time of 8:10.2 to the Crimson Tide’s 8:08.5.

In the second varsity eight race, the Knights placed first in the Courtney Nelson Patterson boat at 8:02.5, 15 seconds ahead of Alabama, who finished in 8:17.5.

The second varsity four came in second place at 9:25.4, behind Alabama who placed first with 9:13.3. Miami came in third with 9:43.1.

The regatta ended with the Miami winning the varsity four race with a time of 8:24.4. 麻豆原创 came in second place at 8:30.1 and Alabama placed third with 8:50.5.