OU Finishes Second at Big 12 Championships

Saturday, May 16

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

8:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

Big 12 Championships

OU Finishes Second at Big 12 Championships

May 17, 2015 | Rowing

By: Athletics Communications

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- The University of Oklahoma rowing squad took second place at the Big 12 Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Sunday. The Sooners scored 36 points out of a possible 48 in the automatic qualifying scoring.

To go along with the second place finish, five Sooner rowers earned All-Big 12 rowing selections. Ashley Carpenter, Maegan Neihart, Jenny O'Grady, Kellie O'Reilly and Elena Sloan where each selected for their outstanding performance in the boat.

Oklahoma posted three silver medal finishes, taking second in three of the five grand finals on Melton Hill Lake, including the third varsity eight, first varsity four and first varsity eight races.

Texas won the Big 12 Championships and earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with 48 points. OU was second with 36 points followed by Tennessee (34), Kansas State (32), Alabama (22), Kansas (22), West Virginia (16) and Old Dominion (6).

The Sooners started the second and final day off with a second-place performance in the third varsity eight. Oklahoma clocked in at 7:15.87, besting Kansas (7:21.90), Alabama (7:29.10), Kansas State (7:33.08) and Tennessee (7:47.04) in the grand final. Texas took first with a time of 7:00.18.

After qualifying in fifth place in Saturday's prelims, the second varsity four boat moved up a spot in Sunday's grand final race to finish fourth. The crew posted a time of 8:01.17.

In the first varsity four race the Crimson and Cream picked another second place finish, completing the 2,000 meter race in 7:47.35 to grab seven automatic qualifier points. Texas won the race with a mark of 7:35.40. Rounding out the top six from the grand final was Kansas (7:52.19), Tennessee (7:57.81), West Virginia (7:58.13) and Alabama (8:02.54).

Oklahoma suffered a setback in the second varsity eight grand final, crossing the finish line fifth with a time of 7:09.63 after qualifying second in Saturday's prelims. The fifth place finish gave OU eight points in the automatic qualifying standings.

In the final race of the Big 12 Championships, the first varsity eight, OU earned its third silver of the day with a second-place finish and time of 6:47.26. Texas won the race with a time of (6:31.16), followed by OU, Kansas State (6:54.27), Tennessee (6:57.53), Kansas (7:00.24) and Alabama (7:13.91). The second place in the first varsity eight earned the Sooners a crucial 21 points to surpass Tennessee for second place in the final automatic qualifier standings.

With Texas earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, OU would need to be selected as an at-large team. The NCAA selection show is Tuesday, May 19 at 4 p.m. CT.

Sunday's lineups are listed below.

First Varsity 8
Rower		Position
	Ashley Carpenter	C
	Jennie O'Grady	S
	Maegan Neihart	7
	Elena Sloan	6
	Stephanie Busse	5
	Abby Griffith	4
	Taylor Spencer	3
	Kellie O'Reilly	2
	Reagan Collins	B

First Varsity 4
Rower		Position
	Rubie Hays	C
	Melissa Patten	S
	Daisy Beals	3
	Katie Ognovich	2
	Stefanie Tapke	B

Third Varsity 8
Rower		Position
	Katie Grantham	C
	Cara Hoelzl	S
	Lauren Bishop	7
	Natalie Grimes	6
	Miranda Rauner	5
	Brooke Benge	4
	Jalyn Yeakley	3
	Elizabeth Tracy	2
	Elizabeth Vernon	B

Second Varsity 8
Rower		Position
	Nicasia D'Allesandro	C
	Victoria Baker	S
	Marissa Beene	7
	Victoria Wallace	6
	Callie Kinsey	5
	Taylor Gillespie	4
	Emmie Preskitt	3
	Kim Moldenhauer	2
	Maddie Wullschleger	B