Kansas Ready for Big 12 Rowing Championship in Sarasota

Sunday, May 17

Sarasota, Fla.

8:00 a.m. CT

University of Kansas

Big 12 Championships

Kansas Ready for Big 12 Rowing Championship in Sarasota

5/15/2026 10:20:00 AM | Women's Rowing

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Kansas Jayhawks open the postseason with the Big 12 Rowing Championship, which will be held at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, on May 17, beginning at 8 a.m. CT.

"We are excited to roll into conference this weekend," said head rowing coach Andrew Derrick. "I actually got to be a part of the very first Big 12 championship for rowing, as an assistant at Oklahoma in 2009 and am so honored to be returning 15 years later wearing the Jayhawk and with a team I know is capable of great things, both now and in the near future."

Kansas will compete against highly competitive conference opponents including No.11 UCF, Kansas State, West Virginia, Tulsa, and Old Dominion in pursuit of a bid to NCAA Rowing Championships at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia from May 29-31.

The Big 12 Championship will consist of six individual races, run in 15-minute intervals, followed by the awards ceremony taking place at 10 a.m. CT or approximately 45 minutes after the final race.

Starting off the championship will be the III Eight which features freshmen Samantha Ronen (coxswain), Suyin Howard, and Ashley Herbert, sophomores Morgan Tenpenny and Audrey Crowson, and junior Andronika Dyer, as well as seniors Lauren Burright, Catherine Bachovchin, and Martina Zbiralova.

The II Four crew will consist of junior coxswain Kaylee Chism, freshmen Naida Paschal and Hollis Andreen, sophomore Isabel Smikahl, with senior Abigail Steffen.

Freshman coxswain Megan Engerman, along with sophomores Emerson Linthicum, Grace Bailey, junior Alexandra Robinson, with senior Rory Brennan will make up the I Four.

The II Eight will have sophomore coxswain Kyra Kavouridis, freshmen Kenzington Rector and Isabella Rossato, juniors Tya Drennen, Eva Robinson, Gretchen Schmeirer-Knust, Kathryn Borthwick, Sofia D'Ascenzo, and senior Anastasiia Draha.

In the final race, competing as the I Eight are graduate students Ruby Moritz-Cammack (coxswain) and Lindsey True, freshmen Claire Van Mater and Katariina Peipman, sophomore Kaylie Hellner, juniors Sophie Pense, Gracie Shepherd, as well as seniors Kara Lyons and Aylin Schafer.

Last season, the Jayhawks secured a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship with 52 points, edging out Kansas State (49), Old Dominion (24), and West Virgina (19). The finish marked KU's best placement at the confrence championship since 2016.

Kansas' last competition was at the Minnesota Invite, where the III Eight earned Big 12 Boat of the Week honors after crossing the finish line at 6:57.80 to beat Big 10 competitors Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Jayhawks now head to Nathan Benderson Park for the second time this season. KU previously scored a first-place victory with the I Four crew at the Sarasota 2k in March.

"I think we have our line-ups flushed out and are moving as fast as we have all season, which is always a good place to be going into conference," Derrick added. "Led by these seniors, the team can certainly take a step forward this weekend, it's just a matter of how big of step based on how well we show up ready to throw down against some great competition. Rock Chalk!"

HOW TO FOLLOW

Fans can stream the Big 12 Rowing Championship on ESPN+ with live results accessed here.

ORDER OF EVENTS

8:15 a.m. CT – III Eight race

8:30 a.m. CT – II Four Race

8:45 a.m. CT – I Four Race

9 a.m. CT – II Eight Race

9:15 a.m. CT – I Eight Race