Rowing wins fifth straight Big 12 Invitational
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Texas women's rowing team captured the first two novice races of the day and never looked back, winning three of the remaining four races to claim its fifth straight Big 12 Invitational regatta on Sunday (UT won from 2001-04, with last year's Invitational cancelled due to bad weather). The Invitational took place on Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan. The Longhorns won the Big 12 trophy with 56 total points, followed by Kansas and Kansas State who were in a tie for second with 44 points each. Texas' first varsity eight boat won the premier and final event of the day with a time of 7:58.5, finishing ahead of Kansas (8:05.2) and Kansas State (8:19.0) to capture its fifth overall crown at the Big 12 Invitational. "Its good to see the team in good spirits after performing well in some tough conditions today," said Texas head rowing coach Carie Graves. "We are in the tail end of our season and our confidence and patience is really showing. The novices looked strong and finished their last races of the season in great fashion." UT boats also captured the top performances in the second varsity eight (8:11.3) and first varsity four (9:06.5) competitions. The Longhorns finished second in the first novice eight (8:29.1) behind the winning Kansas State crew (8:20.3). Kansas finished second in the first novice four (11:35.4), the second novice eight (8:57.6) and the first varsity-eight races. Kansas State took second in the first varsity four (9:20.8) and in the second varsity eight (8:25.4). The Big 12 Invitational serves as the league's "unofficial" championship for Texas, Kansas and Kansas State, the only schools to sponsor rowing in the conference. UT has won all four previous league titles (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005). In 2004, the regatta was cancelled due to severe weather on the day of competition. UT rowing will be back in action on Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, when it travels to Oakridge, Tenn., for the NCAA South/Central Regionals on Melton Lake. The Longhorns are seeking a third appearance at the NCAA Championships, slated for May 27-28 on Mercer Lake in Winsor, N.J. and hosted by the Princeton National Rowing Association and Rutgers. Big 12 Rowing Invitational FINAL SCORES
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