University of Tennessee Athletics
2024-25 Rowing Roster
Roster
Birdling, Maiya
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Maiya Birdling
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Hamilton, New Zealand
- High School:
- Sacred Heart Girls' College (New Plymouth)
Bio
CAREER HONORS
- Big 12 Academic All-Conference Second Team -- 2024
- SEC Academic Honor Roll -- 2024
2024-25 - JUNIOR
- Earned the 3V8 gold medal at the inaugural SEC Championship (5/11/25), crossing the line in 6:35.926, more than seven seconds ahead of No. 2 Texas (6:42.970).
- Tennessee closed the Princeton-hosted regatta (4/26/25) with a hard-fought victory in the third varsity eight race, as its crew edged No. 6 Princeton by under a second with a time of 6:28.8. Syracuse placed third, nearly eight seconds behind UT's winning pace.
- UT's 3V8+ crew crossed the line in 6:45.087 Saturday (4/19/25) at the Big Ten Invitational to beat four ranked teams in No. 9 Rutgers, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 16 Duke and No. 12 Michigan.
- Tennessee's 3V8+ crew placed first once again Friday (4/18/25) afternoon in Sarasota, logging an afternoon time of 6:45.988—over eight seconds ahead of No. 14 Ohio State—to win its second race of the day.
- During the morning session of day one at the Big Ten Invitational (4/18/25), Tennessee posted a decisive win in the 3V8+ race with a time of 6:44.854—more than seven seconds ahead of second-place, ninth-ranked Rutgers.
- In the third varsity eight A Final race of day two at the Rocky Top Invite (4/5/25), Tennessee (6:54.075) used a 10-plus second margin to earn the victory, besting Duke and North Carolina.
- As part of Tennessee's 3V8+ crew, crossed the line in 7:01.958 for a win on day one of the Rocky Top Invite (4/4/25), which was over 27 seconds ahead of Clemson's third varsity eight.
2023-24 - SOPHOMORE
- Spring season boat record: 27-2
- Competed primarily in the 3V8+ boat during the season.
- At the Big 12 Championships (5/19/24), crossed the line second in the 3V8+ race with a final time of 6:35.268.
- Posted a win for the Lady Vols’ 3V8+ with time of 6:58.380 on day two of the Lake Wheeler Invitational (4/27/24).
- Recorded a winning time of 7:13.210 to earn Tennessee’s third varsity eight crew its second win of the Lake Wheeler Invitational’s (4/26/24) opening day.
- Earned a win in the first round of the Lake Wheeler Invitational (4/26/24), crossing in 7:13.210—the fastest mark among all 3V8+ crews in round one.
- Capped an incredibly successful weekend at the Big Ten Invitational (4/20/24) for Tennessee by posting a victory in the 3V8+ with a final time of 6:41.996.
- As part of UT’s third varsity eight crew, logged a final time of 6:53.324 to earn a race win for the Big Orange in the afternoon session on day one of the Big Ten Invitational (4/19/24).
- Crossing the line in 6:51.263, accounted for a race victory in the third varsity eight during the morning session of the Big Ten Invitational’s opening day (4/19/24).
- Logged an impressive win in Tennessee’s 3V8+ boat with a time of 7:00.8, finishing ahead of Minnesota’s 2V8+ crew by just over one second at the home dual in Oak Ridge (3/29/24) to place second overall in the three-boat race behind only UT’s 2V8+ crew.
2022-23 - FRESHMAN
- Competed in the 1V4 and 2V4 boats during the season.
- Spring season boat record: 23-15 (9-8 in 1V4, 14-7 in 2V4).
- Won a bronze medal at the Big 12 Championship to finish third with a mark of 7:29.036 (5/14/23).
- Posted a 7:57.1 mark for a win over the Tar Heels at the UVA Invite (4/29/23).
- Notched a 10-4 record in the 2V4 at the Lake Wheeler Invitational (4/21-22/23).
- Notched a second-place finish (7:59.833) on Saturday defeating UCF, Navy, North Carolina and the Syracuse 3V4.
- Finished second (7:25.238) in the morning session and third (7:53.586) in the afternoon session. The boat picked up wins against Boston College, Clemson and Oklahoma.
- Clocked in a time of 7:15.127 to best RV Michigan State during the second day of the Big Ten Invitational (4/8/2023).
- Defeated No. 19 Alabama and RV Wisconsin for a second-place finish (7:13.462) during the first day of the Big Ten Invitational (4/7/23).
- Notched a second place finish in the 1V4 (7:44.74) at the home dual against Alabama and Oklahoma (4/1/2023).
- Opened the season with a 4-2 record during the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite with wins over RV Louisville, RV Clemson, RV Alabama and RV Wisconsin (3/18-19/23).
- Topped host Louisville in the final race of the Invite with a 7:32.953 effort, falling shortly behind Duke.
- Went 3-1 on Saturday, with the crew’s top effort at 7:16.76 to beat the Crimson Tide and Badgers.
PERSONAL
- Born March 15, 2004 in Hamilton, New Zealand
- Daughter of Sean and Rachel Birdling
- Attended Sacred Heart Girls' College (New Plymouth)
- Majoring in Psychology, with a double minor in sociology and social justice
- Was a member of the national champions A-grade senior waterpolo team in 2017
- Earned her high school's Oarswoman of the Year Award in 2018 and 2019
- Raced on the New Zealand North vs. South U18 rowing team in 2020
- In 2021, won a gold medal at the New Zealand Club Championships (4-)
- Her high school rowing coach was Kylee Corboy
Everything Orange S2 | Alex Pidgeon (Rowing)
Thursday, May 22
ROW | Walk-On Promo
Thursday, August 15
Everything Orange | Kim Cupini (Rowing)
Thursday, February 01
Rowing | 2023 Senior Video
Monday, May 22
