K-State to Cap Season at Big 12 Rowing Championships

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women's rowing team will look to conclude its spring season on a high note this weekend, as the Wildcats travel to Lake Walter E. Long in Austin, Texas to compete in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday (May 15). The first of the four races will begin at 8:15 a.m., CT, and conclude at 9 a.m., CT.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, the Championship is closed to spectators at Decker Lake. However, fans will be able to watch all the races via Big 12 Now on ESPN+, while also following the live results via www.HereNow.com.

The First Varsity Eight will kick things off at 8:15 a.m., CT on Saturday morning. It will be followed by the Second Varsity Eight at 8:30 a.m., CT, the First Varsity Four at 8:45 a.m., CT and the Second Varsity Four at 9 a.m., CT. The trophy presentation will be immediately following at 9:30 a.m., CT.

Fans can follow live updates on @KStateROW throughout the day.

This will be the 12^th Big 12 Championship in women's rowing dating back to 2009 with K-State, Kansas and Texas competing in all 11 previous championships. Five Big 12 schools – K-State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia – will compete in this year's Championship, along with affiliate members Alabama and Tennessee. The current No. 2 ranked Longhorns have won nine of the 11 Big 12 Championships, including five consecutive titles dating to 2015, while the Sooners have captured the other two titles in 2013 and 2014.

K-State has finished as high as second on two occasions (2009, 2014) at the Big 12 Championship. This will be the first Championship since 2019 when the Wildcats finished in third place with 91 points following Texas (137) and Oklahoma (106), as the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19.

"This year is a little bit different from most years because of COVID as well as the lack of water time," said head coach Pat Sweeney. "It's hard to gauge what would be considered successful this year considering everything.
We normally go into Big 12s aiming for every boat to medal and that's still our aim. Due to the lack of water time, we are just inconsistent, which is part of being a young team.

"Texas is the best team, followed by Alabama and Tennessee and I think all three are ranked. But our aim, I think for each of the four boats would be can we improve and go beat KU, Oklahoma and West Virginia? How close can we get to Alabama and Tennessee?"

Sweeney said that the coaching staff has made some slight changes to seat order since losing the Sunflower Showdown on May 1 and they feel the changes will make an impact this weekend.

"We've made a slight change on the seat order based on what we saw at KU," said Sweeney. "And the team is looking better, it's looking stronger. Because we've had so little water time, every time we race, it's like we're learning something new. This year, things that we should've learned in January and February, we are learning now, so we are adjusting on the run. But we are making it work. We look better, which is most important."

The First Varsity Eight, which includes sophomores Elizabeth Mummert and Megan Michaelis and freshman bow Jadyn Greisen among others, did not have the race it had hoped for at the Sunflower Showdown and they are looking to rebound and finish off the season strong at the Big 12 Championships.

"I am looking forward to a chance for redemption and a chance to make some people mad at the race," said Mummert. "If we do it right and do what we are capable of, it will make people mad.

"We really just need to put together each part of our race. We really practice doing the starts. And then that middle five minutes of the race is a key part where we just have to set a good rhythm and push through for the finish. We just need to put it all together. And if we hit each one of those with the right rhythm and the right technique, I think we'll be able to perform well. We're definitely capable of it."

Michaelis adds that the Varsity Eight's focus continues to be on things they can control and finding the proper rhythm within the boat.

"To have a better performance, we need to keep the focus on ourselves and not worry about what other schools are doing, because we can't control them. We can only control ourselves. Also, rhythm will be key for us. Since we haven't been able to get on the water very much this year, it's really going to come down to the rhythm we can get in a race within our boat. If we have a good rhythm, I think we're going to have a really good race."

This will be Greisen's first experience at the Big 12 Championship, and she is looking forward to experiencing what it's like to race at a high level against the some of the best teams in the country.

"Last year, I went to winter camp in Texas. But Big 12s is at a different place. I've never really experienced big races until this year. I think just like seeing everything is really interesting because I've heard about it from all the older girls, but actually experiencing it is a lot different."

However, despite the lack of experience, Greisen and the Wildcats are just looking forward to the opportunity to make improvements and finish off the season with a lot of momentum heading into next season.

"For me, I just want to see improvements from KU," said Greisen. "We know that other schools are really fast, and we want to stick with them. That would be a huge achievement. But we just want to put together a good race that we can be proud of. That's one of the biggest achievements that we will be looking for the most."

A full recap of Saturday's race will be made available on kstatesports.com following the races.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jadyn Greisen

Megan Michaelis

Elizabeth Mummert

Kansas State University Athletics