University of Oklahoma Athletics

Rowing Races for C-USA Title, First NCAA Bid

May 17, 2013 | Rowing

May 17, 2013

 OU Rowing at Conference USA Championship
 Date & Times  Saturday, May 18: 8 a.m. & 1:20 p.m. CT
 Location  Melton Hill Lake | Oak Ridge, Tenn.
 Race Info  Race Notes
 Live Results  ConferenceUSA.com
 All Access Updates  Championship Central
 Additional Info  Championship CentralTwitter | Instagram

QUICK PREVIEW: CONFERENCE USA ROWING CHAMPIONSHIP
Fresh off its first Big 12 title, the University of Oklahoma rowing team races at the Conference USA Championship for a berth in the NCAA Championship Saturday on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The championship begins at 8 a.m. CT with the preliminary rounds of the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four, novice eight and open four events. The top three finishers in each of the two heats advance to the finals, which will begin at 1:20 p.m. Results from both varsity eight races and the varsity four race will be used to determine a conference champion. OU earned the top seed in all three races.

The Sooners finished third the last two seasons after a fourth-place finish at the inaugural event in 2010. Tennessee, which hosts the event, won the championship in 2010 and `12, while Texas claimed victory in `11.

With five Big 12 schools sponsoring rowing, the conference is one team shy of an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championship. Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and West Virginia are joined in the 11-team Conference USA with Alabama, Old Dominion, SMU, Tennessee, Tulsa and UCF. The winner of the C-USA Championship earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

LIVE RESULTS AND ALL-ACCESS UPDATES
• Live results will be available on Twitter at @SoonerRowing. Additional social media updates and photos from the championship can be found on Instagram at @OU_Rowing.
• Follow along with behind-the-scenes updates, notes and more from team headquarters in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on the Championship Central page on SoonerSports.com. The page will have all-access updates, live results and more throughout the weekend.

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING
The Conference USA champion will be determined by the placement of the 11 teams in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four. Points will be awarded to each team according to their finish in each race, with the three events weighted differently. The team with the most points at the conclusion of the event will be crowned the C-USA champion.

LAST TIME OUT: SOONERS WIN FIRST BIG 12 TITLE
• In its fifth season as a varsity program, Oklahoma won its first Big 12 Rowing Championship on May 4 in Kansas City Kan.
• The Sooners used wins in the final three races to secure their first conference title. With victories in three of the six events, it marks the highest number of individual boat Big 12 titles for OU in the history of the event.
• OU finished with 136 points, ahead of Texas's 117 points. Kansas came in third overall with 81 points, followed by West Virginia with 75 and Kansas State with 66 points.
• Oklahoma led all teams with eight All-Big 12 honorees. Kristin Clift, Meghan Farrell, Nikki Furmanek, Kellie O'Reilly and Carly Schueler were five of the ten members of the First Team All-Big 12. Ivy Brown, Kelsey O'Grady and Emmie Preskitt were named to the Second Team All-Big 12.

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
It has not taken long for OU to experience success at the Conference USA Championship. The event was first held in 2010 and the Sooners have finished in the top four each year. The University of Tennessee has served as the host all three years.
• OU finished fourth as a team in 2010, highlighted by a second-place finish in the varsity eight race, behind overall champion Tennessee. Three Sooners were named to the All-Conference team.
• In 2011, Oklahoma finished third overall. The second varsity eight claimed a third-place finish, OU's first medal in the history of the C-USA Championship.
• 2012 saw the Sooners place third and win their first event title. OU's novice eight claimed gold, while the varsity eight finished second and the second varsity eight third. Nikki Furmanek was named the C-USA Rower of the Year.

UP NEXT
The NCAA Championship Selection Show will be held May 21 at 4 p.m. CT. The 22-team field will be made up of 11 automatic bids and 11 at-large selections. The Sooners look to make their first NCAA Championship appearance. The winner of the C-USA Championship earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

RECORD-BREAKING SIX BOAT OF THE WEEK HONORS
• The Sooners won six of the seven Boat of the Week honors they have been eligible for this season. The total is the most of any school in both the Big 12 and Conference USA, ahead of West Virginia's four. A total of ten awards have been given this season.
• OU earned the first four Boat of the Week honors awarded to open the season, and the first three awards went to a different OU boat. Oklahoma is the first program in conference history to earn the weekly accolade from both the Big 12 and Conference USA in the same week, which it has done twice this season. West Virginia also accomplished the feat this spring.
• Oklahoma's second varsity four has claimed four Boat of the Week awards, three from Conference USA and one from the Big 12. OU's varsity four earned one accolade from C-USA, while the varsity eight was honored once by the Big 12.

SUCCESS ON THE WATER AND IN THE CLASSROOM
Not only are the Sooners having a record-breaking season on the water, they are also matching that success in the classroom. A league-high-tying three Sooners were named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team, the conference announced last week. Nikki Furmanek, Ivy Brown and Kim Moldenhauer were selected as three of 19 members of the team. The Academic All-Big 12 Rowing Team included 24 Sooners, all on the first team. No other school had more first team honorees. A conference-high-tying 46 OU rowers were named to the Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll, while 13 Sooners received the Academic Medal from C-USA, the highest academic honor from the conference.

BACK IN THE RANKINGS
For the first time since 2011 and for just the second time in its five-year history, Oklahoma was ranked in the top 20 of the CRCA Coaches Poll. The Sooners spent the first four weeks receiving votes in the poll before they earned a No. 20 ranking on April 24 and May 1. In the 2011 season, Oklahoma spent two weeks ranked 20th and 19th. The complete rankings are available on the following page of these notes. The complete rankings are available here.

  OU's Expected Lineups

Varsity Eight
C: Carly Schueler
8: Heather Morris
7: Meghan Farrell
6: Kristin Clift
5: Nikki Furmanek
4: Rebecca Staff
3: Emmie Preskitt
2: Kim Moldenhauer
1: Ashley LaFollette

Second Varsity Eight
C: Jessica Hogan
8: Becca Winchester
7: Marilyn Kozlowski
6: Laura Combs
5: Ivy Brown
4: Taylor Gillespie
3: Olivia Staff
2: Kellie O'Reilly
1: Kelsey O'Grady

Varsity Four
C: Ashley Carpenter
4: Abbie Seremek
3: Rachel Cantrell
2: Megan Quinn
1: Melissa Simpson

Open Four
C: Ashley Middaugh
4: Cassie Preskitt
3: Heather House
2: Brooke Holleman
1: Jenny O'Grady
Novice Eight
C: Haleigh McAnally
8: Meredith Thornton
7: Reagan Collins
6: Daisy Beals
5: Jenny Franklin
4: Samantha Legler
3: Callie Kinsey
2: Allison Kwiecinski
1: Megan Szukala
 

 



















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