Crain, Furmanek Earn Big 12 Honors

May 9, 2013

NORMAN, Okla. -- Coming off the program's first conference championship, University of Oklahoma rowing head coach Leeanne Crain was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year and senior Nikki Furmanek was named the Big 12 Player of the Year, the conference announced Thursday.

It is the second-straight season Crain and Furmanek have been honored. OU's head coach was named Co-Coach of the Year by the Big 12 last season, while Furmanek earned Conference USA Rower of the Year honors in 2012. OU's Rebecca Staff earned co-Rower of the Year honors last season.

“This is a huge honor to be recognized among an incredible group of coaches,” Crain said. “All of them have done outstanding work with their respective teams this season and it's been gratifying to see the growth of all of our programs since the Big 12 started providing a fully sanctioned championship for our sport. I have to give credit to the other coaches on my staff for their tireless efforts and to our student-athletes for their commitment to excellence in all they do.”

Crain, who has led the OU program since its first year in 2008-09 helped the Sooners win their first Big 12 title this season after a record-setting regular season. OU earned six Boat of the Week honors, the highest total for any team in conference history. Three boats won Big 12 Championships, the most in program history.

One of two captains, Furmanek has rowed all four years in the varsity eight and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second straight year. She is the reigning Conference USA Rower of the Year and was named to the Collegiate Coaches Association South All-Region Second Team in 2012.

“Nikki is so deserving of this award,” Crain said. “She has had an impressive four-year career here at OU and has provided outstanding leadership to her teammates and peers. She has been a four-year starter in our first varsity eight and has played a large role in helping to lay a strong foundation for future generations of OU rowing student-athletes to stand upon. Nikki's work ethic is off the charts and she is an inspiration to all of us.”

A Capital One Academic All-District Team honoree in 2011 and 2012, Furmanek was named to the All-Academic in 2011, '12 and '13 in both the Big 12 and Conference USA. She has helped the varsity eight win Big 12 titles in 2012 and '13.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the Big 12, but the credit goes to my teammates,” Furmanek said. It was truly a team effort this past weekend and I am so proud to be part of this team.”

The Sooners return to the water in two weeks for the Conference USA Championship in Oak Ridge, Tenn. With five Big 12 schools sponsoring rowing, the conference is one team shy of an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championship. The winner of the 11-team C-USA Championship will earn an automatic bid to the national championship.

All-access updates on the Sooners can be found on Championship Central. The page will have daily news, notes and pictures from team headquarters as OU goes for its first NCAA Championship berth.

For complete news and behind-the-scenes updates on the Sooners, follow them on Twitter at @SoonerRowing and Instagram at Instagram.com/OU_Rowing.

Players Mentioned

Rebecca Staff

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics