Jayhawk Rowing Concludes First Home Spring Racing with Four Wins

Friday, April 11

Kansas City, Kan.

University of Kansas

Iowa

Jayhawk Rowing Concludes First Home Spring Racing with Four Wins

4/12/2025 4:00:00 PM | Women's Rowing

Friday Results Saturday Results

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas women's rowing team earned a total of four wins against Iowa and Minnesota in a pair of Big Ten matchups on April 11-12 at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kansas.

"I think we have a lot of great things we can measure from when we raced two weeks ago based on the improvements we've been able to make in practice that were showcased in our racing," said Kansas head coach Carrie Cook-Callen.

Friday vs. Iowa
Kansas opened up the Double Dual by seeking out three wins behind the 2 Varsity 4+, 2 Varsity 8+ and 1 Varsity 4+.

Opening the regatta with a seven-second win over the Hawkeyes was the 2 Varsity 4+ reaching the finish line first with a time of 7:27.857. Members of the boat included Kayley Chism, Grace Bailey, Taylor Lindberg, Carmen Arkin, and Kathryn Borthwick.

The 2 Varsity 8+ added its own five-second victory, crossing the finish line at 6:31.783 to pick up the second Jayhawk win of the day. This margin of victory over the Hawkeyes improves from the close 1.19 second difference that gave Kansas the B Finals win over Iowa at the Sarasota 2K. Leading the way in the win was Sarah Sutton, Ava Black, Anastasiia Draha, Abigail Steffen, Sophie Pense, Lindsey True, Kara Lyons, Tammy Keller and Sofia D'Ascenzo.

Securing the final KU victory of the opening day was the 1 Varsity 4+ team of Kyra Kavouridis, Rory Brennan, Jacie Goff, Emerson Linthicum and Catherine Bachovchin posting a time of 7:26.662 for a six-second win.

"This year's installment of the Double Dual brought some really high level competition. We were presented with a great opportunity to test ourselves and it showed that we are making some really solid gains," said Kansas associate head coach Dan Duxbury. "One example of this is the improvement the 2 Varsity 8+ made in their direct head to head competition with Iowa over the last two weeks. In Florida we barley edge them out, but this weekend we widened that margin to close to six seconds. The Varsity 4+, also a NCAA points earning boat, took down Iowa as well."

The 1 Varsity 8+ also had a strong showing with a time of 6:28.828. Rounding out day one action was the 3 Varsity 8+ recording a time of 7:00.84 and the 4 Varsity 8+ competing in the only three team contest that also included Minnesota. The Gophers finished first, followed by Iowa then Kansas at 7:19.492.

Saturday vs. Minnesota
Action resumed on Saturday morning as boats had to face a change in conditions with a strong headwind against a tough Minnesota opponent.

The morning was highlighted by a victory in an intense neck-and-neck contest in the 3 Varsity 8+, as the Jayhawks prevailed over the Gophers by four seconds. The crew of Olivia Schroeder, Emma Olney, Kaylie Hellner, Grace Morenz, Andi Dyer, Izzy Smikahl, Morgan Tenpenny, Riley Shoots and Gretchen Schmierer Knust pulled together a time of 7:23.455 for the KU victory.

"Our strategy right now is picking it up in the third 500 meters and just holding it steady there," said Tenpenny. "I think we executed that part really well even though it was windy and Minnesota was right on us, but we held them towards the end and came out with the win."

The 2 Varsity 4+ group recorded a time of 7:58.278 as the 1 Varsity 8+ added its own finish of 6:47.016 just 20 minutes later. The 2 Varsity 8+ followed, clocking a time of 7:00.366 and the 1 Varsity 4+ concluded the final of the fours races with a time of 8:12.023.

Wrapping up the weekend was the 4 Varsity 8+ as KU faced both Minnesota and Iowa, as the Hawkeyes joined the race for the three team competition. The Jayhawks' time of 8:24.350 placed them third as Iowa won and Minnesota came in runner up.

Up Next
Kansas returns to the east coast for the Lake Wheeler Invite in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 25-26.