Kansas First Varsity Eight Earns Big 12 Boat of the Week

IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference announced on Friday the selection of Kansas’ First Varsity Eight boat as the conference’s Boat of the Week after a stellar weekend at the Sunflower Showdown last Saturday, where they completed the sweep of Kansas State and took home the Kansas Cup for the second consecutive season.

The conference honor marks the second for the Jayhawks in the 2016 season and the first multiple Boat of the Week honor in program history. KU’s Second Varsity Four earned the honor on April 14. 

KU’s award-winning boat, led by Coxswain Mary Slattery, Maggie Duncan, BriAnna Dittberner, Kaelyn Thierolf, Allison Schaaf, Tessa Scott, Margret Winter, Jordan Helms and Maddie Irelan, headed into the final race of the day with a 17-0 lead and the Kansas Cup already in hand, but knew a sweep would make the victory even better. The Jayhawks finished with a time 7:40.32 in the race to defeat the Wildcats’ main boat by 10 seconds.

Kansas has the weekend off as they prepare for the Big 12 Championships, where they will take on the Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Old Dominion, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Alabama on May 13 at Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

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