Wildcats Look to Defend Sunflower Cup at Sunflower Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women's rowing team will look to defend its Sunflower Showdown victory from a season ago, as the Wildcats take on rival Kansas in the 22^nd edition of the Sunflower Showdown on Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kansas on Saturday.

"It's always good racing between us and Kansas. The two programs are very similar, and it always brings out good competition," Head Coach Patrick Sweeney said. "Right now, I feel pretty confident that we will do well there. I think we are really on the up-swing and things have come together really nicely for our team."

Saturday's Sunflower Showdown kicks off at 11:00 a.m. CT with the start of the third varsity 8+ race. Each race awards the winning team with points, with the winning team possessing the most points at the end of the five races.

Time	Event	Points Awarded to Winner
11:00 am	Third Varsity 8+	2
11:15 am	Second Varsity 4+	2
11:30 am	First Varsity 4+	3
11:45 am	Second Varsity 8+	6
12:00 pm	First Varsity 8+	9

At last year's Sunflower Showdown, the Wildcats captured their first series victory over the Jayhawks since 2014, claiming victories in four of five events to win with 13 total points. K-State has fared well against their in-state rivals, winning five of the last eight matchups against the Jayhawks, including four-straight victories from 2011-2014.

K-State has posted impressive results throughout the 2019 spring season, coming off three gold medals at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships on April 19-20 and four medals at the Sunshine State Invitational on April 5-6. The Sunflower Showdown serves as the fourth official regatta of the spring season for the Wildcats and the last stop before the Big 12 Championship in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on May 18-19.

"The team has worked really hard this year and I feel like things have worked out very nicely to this point," Sweeney added. "We had such a good spring camp, and since then the team has really been putting everything together, we are just looking to keep it going."

This weekend's Sunflower Showdown is free and open to the public and can be viewed from the shore of Wyandotte County Lake Park at 91^st & Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas 66109.

For the latest on K-State Rowing, follow @kstatesports and @KStateROW on Twitter using the hashtag #KStateROW or on the team's Facebook page.

Kansas State University Athletics

Wildcats Look to Defend Sunflower Cup at Sunflower Showdown

Next Event

Related Videos