No. 20 Rowing Goes for Big 12 Title Saturday

May 03, 2013 | Rowing

By: Athletics Communications

May 3, 2013

No. 20 Rowing at Big 12 Championship
Date & Times	Saturday, May 4: 9:40 a.m. CT
Location	Wyandotte Lake \| Kansas City, Kan.
Race Info	Race Notes
Live Results	Big12Sports.com
All Access Updates	Championship Central
Additional Info	Championship Central \| Twitter \| Instagram

PREVIEW: BIG 12 ROWING CHAMPIONSHIP
The No. 20 University of Oklahoma rowing team competes for its first conference title at the Big 12 Rowing Championship Saturday on Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan. The Sooners, in their fifth season as a varsity program at OU will compete against Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and West Virginia.

The championship, which features races in six events, begins at 9:40 a.m. Results from all six races will be used to determine a conference champion. The five teams will race four varsity eights and two varsity fours.

Oklahoma goes for its first Big 12 title. After not fielding a complete team at the championship in their first season, the Sooners finished second in 2010, `11 and `12. Last season, OU won the varsity eight and third varsity eight events but fell just one point shy of Texas, who won the event in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners own a perfect record in 12 varsity races against Kansas, Kansas State and Texas this season. The last time Oklahoma and Big 12-newcomer West Virginia met on the race course was in 2009 at the SIRA Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

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 and by using the hashtag #Big12ROW.
• Follow along with behind-the-scenes updates, notes and more from team headquarters in Kansas City on the Championship Central page on SoonerSports.com. The page will have all-access updates, live results and more throughout the weekend.
Big 12 Championship Scoring

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING
The Big 12 champion will be determined using a point system. Points will be awarded to each team according to their finish in each race, with each event weighted differently. The team with the most points at the conclusion of the event will be crowned the Big 12 champion.

RECORD-BREAKING SIX BOAT OF THE WEEK HONORS
• The Sooners have 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. The Big 12 announced this week the Academic All-Big 12 Rowing Team, which included 24 Sooners, all on the first team. No other school had more first team honorees. In Conference USA, a league-high-tying 46 OU Rowers were named to the Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. Additionally, 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 is ranked in the top 20 of the CRCA Coaches Poll. The Sooners spent the first four weeks receiving votes in the poll before earning a No. 20 ranking on April 24. OU maintained its ranking in this week's poll. In the 2011 season, Oklahoma spent two weeks ranked 20th and 19th. The complete rankings are available here.

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Despite being just five years old, OU has experienced plenty of success at the Big 12 Championship. The event was first held in 2009, Oklahoma's first season. The first four years featured just four teams. West Virginia joins the field for the first time this season.
• Despite not fielding a full team and many of them first-year rowers, the Sooners won two races at the inaugural championship in Kansas City in 2009. OU claimed victory in the first novice eight and varsity four events and finished second in the second novice eight race.
• The Sooners finished second as a team in 2010 on their home course in Oklahoma City. While OU didn't win a race, they finished second in three races and third in two. It was the first season Oklahoma fielded a full squad.
• In 2011, the championship returned to Kansas City's Wyandotte Lake, and OU finished second for the second-straight year. The Sooners racked up three second-place finishes, a third-place finish and a fourth-place finish.
• 2012 marked the first time six races were held. On the Oklahoma River, OU came in second, just one point behind Texas. The Sooners won the varsity eight and third varsity eight events, while they came in second in the second varsity eight, fourth varsity eight and second varsity four. Oklahoma finished third in the varsity four.

UP NEXT
Also a member of Conference USA, OU will race at the Conference USA Championships on May 18 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Sooners will look to build off a third-place finish at last year's event.

OU's Expected Lineups

Varsity Eight C: Carly Schueler 8: Heather Morris 7: Meghan Farrell 6: Kellie O'Reilly 5: Nikki Furmanek 4: Kristin Clift 3: Emmie Preskitt 2: Kim Moldenhauer 1: Kelsey O'Grady	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: Jenny O'Grady 1: Ashley LaFollette
Varsity Four C: Ashley Carpenter 4: Abbie Seremek 3: Rachel Cantrell 2: Megan Quinn 1: Melissa Simpson	Second Varsity Four C: Ashley Middaugh 4: Brooke Holleman 3: Belle Stixrood 2: Cassie Preskitt 1: Heather House
Third Varsity Eight C: Tori Todt 8: Meredith Thornton 7: Markayla Adam 6: Hunter Schwantz 5: Reagan Collins 4: Callie Kinsey 3: Samantha Legler 2: Jenny Franklin 1: Kristen Anthis	Fourth Varsity Eight: C: Haleigh McAnally 8: Savannah Tallbear 7: Marissa Beene 6: Daisy Beals 5: Lili Campon 4: Allison Kwiecinski 3: Megan Szukala 2: Amanda Graves 1: Brianna Brown