Lady Vols Win Five Medals, Earn Best Finish in Program History at Big 12 Championship

Sunday, May 14

Austin, Texas / Walter E. Long Lake

University of Tennessee

Big 12 Championships

Lady Vols Win Five Medals, Earn Best Finish in Program History at Big 12 Championship

May 14, 2023 | Rowing

Results

AUSTIN, Texas – Tennessee rowing made history during the Big 12 Championship on Sunday morning at Walter E. Long Lake, as the Lady Vols won medals in all five races for the first time since joining the league and earned its best finish ever at the championship by placing second overall with 76 points.

The Big Orange brought home a pair of silver and three bronze medals on the day, marking the second time Tennessee medaled in all of its races at the Big 12 Championship after only four boats competed at the 2021 regatta. Four Lady Vols were selected to the All-Big 12 First Team, as Casey Chronister, Reagan Long, Kate Schildmeyer and Emma Seawright earned the recognition. It was the third time being honored for Seawright, who named to the team as a freshman and sophomore as well.

"Our second-place finish was an excellent example of full team effort," head coach Lisa Glenn said. "With every Tennessee crew medaling, our athletes showed the consistency we know we need to show across the board. Every crew wants to have their best race at the conference championship. I know our crews are able to say they threw their best piece of the season down today."

For the third year in a row, the Lady Vol 2V8 crew won silver at the championship thanks to a strong 6:32.137 effort. The lineup of Abigail Bacci, Schildmeyer, Chronister, Beatrice Bernard, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Paige Reymann, Sheya Lavin and Haley Savastano jumped out to an early lead in the race and continued to fight the entire length of the course. After today's competition, the 2V8 owns an impressive 36-6 record on the season with 14 victories against opponents ranked or receiving votes.

Just one season after finishing seventh at Big 12s, the second silver medal of the day came at the hands of the 1V4 crew. The team of Lauren Reboul, Hannah Smith, Kiana Worobey, Kayla Anderson and Lucy Marret cruised to the boat's best finish ever at the championship, posting a time of 7:19.182. The 1V4 boasts a 27-13 record this year.

In the first varsity eights race, the Big Orange brought home a medal for the third year in a row, taking bronze with a time of 6:31.003. Elizabeth Walley coxed the lineup of Long, Seawright, Gabriela Natale, Logan Yates, Erin Gifford, Katie Rice, Natalia Loram and Sydney Pardy in one of the tightest events of the day, as the Lady Vols battled until the end to hold off a late push from Oklahoma while just coming up short of placing second. The 1V8 eclipsed 20 wins for the season with Sunday's performance, improving its record to 22-19.

Matching its best finish at the league championship, Ella Hill coxed the 2V4 squad of Maiya Birdling, Alyssa Biernat, Grace Wolfenbarger and Sarah Powell to a bronze medal, moving up an impressive four spots from last year's results. The crew narrowly beat out Kansas State by less than 0.03 seconds with a 7:29.036 effort, taking the boat record to 26-12 for the season.

In a tight battle in the 3V8 race, the lineup of Laila Irigoyen, Elena Jerkovic, Megan Czarnecki, Ava Sangiuliano, Haley McMullen, Evelyn Hedrick, Grace Rickman, Morgan Marshall and Autumn Pavuk placed third overall to win the boat's first-ever medal at the Big 12 Championship, bringing home bronze with a time of 6:55.864. The group just missed winning silver by less than 0.4 seconds. The boat owns a 19-8 record on the year.

Up next, the Lady Vols await their fate to see if they will be selected for the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championship, which will take place May 26-28 on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J. The selection show is Tuesday, May 16th, at 6:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

2023 Big 12 Rowing Championship Team Results
1. Texas – 98
2. Tennessee – 76
3. Alabama – 73
4. Oklahoma – 48
5. Kansas State – 40
6. Kansas – 35
7. West Virginia – 21

Race Results
1V8 – 1. No. 2 Texas (6:11.137), 2. RV Alabama (6:29.807), 3. RV Tennessee (6:31.003), 4. Oklahoma (6:33.863), 5. Kansas State (6:41.739), 6. Kansas (6:45.763), 7. West Virginia (6:52.583)
2V8 – 1. No. 2 Texas (6:20.663), 2. RV Tennessee (6:32.137), 3. RV Alabama (6:36.965), 4. Oklahoma (6:49.997), 5. West Virginia (6:53.177), 6. Kansas State (6:56.793), 7. Kansas (7:00.671)
1V4 – 1. No. 2 Texas (6:54.102), 2. RV Tennessee (7:19.182), 3. Kansas (7:27.262), 4. RV Alabama (7:29.000), 5. Kansas State (7:31.064), 6. Oklahoma (7:33.738), 7. West Virginia (7:58.690)
2V4 – 1. Texas (7:01.126), 2. Alabama (7:24.286), 3. Tennessee (7:29.036), 4. Kansas State (7:29.088), 5. Kansas (7:31.758), 6. Oklahoma (7:34.810)
3V8 – 1. Texas (6:36.366), 2. Kansas (6:55.536), 3. Tennessee (6:55.864), 4. Kansas State (6:58.472), 5. Alabama (6:58.632), 6. Oklahoma (7:04.932), 7. West Virginia (7:44.484)

Lineups
1V8: Elizabeth Walley, Reagan Long, Emma Seawright, Gabriela Natale, Logan Yates, Erin Gifford, Katie Rice, Natalia Loram, Sydney Pardy
2V8: Abigail Bacci, Kate Schildmeyer, Casey Chronister, Beatrice Bernard, Alex Pidgeon, Riley Ferdelman, Paige Reymann, Sheya Lavin, Haley Savastano
1V4: Lauren Reboul, Hannah Smith, Kiana Worobey, Kayla Anderson, Lucy Marret
2V4: Ella Hill, Maiya Birdling, Alyssa Biernat, Grace Wolfenbarger, Sarah Powell
3V8: Laila Irigoyen, Elena Jerkovic, Megan Czarnecki, Ava Sangiuliano, Haley McMullen, Evelyn Hedrick, Grace Rickman, Morgan Marshall, Autumn Pavuk

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