Who are we?
Texas Crew is the first collegiate rowing team in Texas. Founded in 1969, it merges the athletic spirit of the University of Texas with the prestige and rigor of the Ivy tradition of rowing. We represent Texas in races across the nation, leading to a national championship in May. Texas Crew competes successfully against both varsity and club programs and ends the season consistently as one of the fastest programs in the region.
We send rowers to compete at the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, and the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship, held on the former 1996 Olympic rowing course in Gainesville, Georgia. The rowing team is comprised of two squads each for men and women: Novice and Varsity.
History
Texas Crew has been rowing for the University of Texas at Austin since 1969. We have been working hard to excel at both our academics and our athletic performance. We have had many great years of successful regattas, and the team has grown big and strong with the years. We have however faced many challenges. Texas Crew is not an NCAA program so we receive little funding from the university. It is up to our rowers to fundraise enough money to pay our coaches' salaries and to maintain our boat fleet.
In 2012, we also had a crisis on our hands. We had been rowing on Lady Bird Lake from a boathouse that a generous alumni had allowed us to use. The boathouse was suddenly sold, and we we had no place to store or launch our boats from. We had to work hard to keep the team going for a few years. Morale may have been low, and it was definitely hard to keep the team motivated. In the end, we managed to secure a new dock at Texas Rowing Center, and we have been launching from TRC ever since.
In the past few years, now that we have secured a dock, we have been focused on growing the team. We are pushing our recruitment efforts to the max. We look for the biggest, strongest, and toughest athletes that we can find. We are looking to remain the biggest sports club at the University of Texas at Austin, and to become one of the top rowing programs in the country.
Records
Men's varsity 2000m
Time | Rower | Year |
---|---|---|
6:09.4 | Chris Sayre | 2005 |
6:09.4 | John Oberg | 2005 |
6:18.0 | Jeremy Niznick | 2008 |
6:18.5 | George Manthos | 2006 |
6:21.3 | Will Schweizer | 2021 |
6:22.0 | Zachary Boven | 2013 |
6:24.0 | James Ward | 2006 |
6:24.0 | Alex West | 2014 |
6:24.4 | Zach Rensberger | 2022 |
Women's varsity 2000m
Time | Rower | Year |
---|---|---|
7:22.4 | Hanna Hoogendam | 2023 |
7:24.0 | Brittany Norris | 2010 |
7:28.3 | Kelly Webeck | 2009 |
7:28.3 | Sara Keidel | 2008 |
7:29.8 | Dianne Schwake | 2011 |
7:30.5 | Jill Welch | 2004 |
7:34.0 | Maretta Dewitt | 2017 |
7:38.6 | Tania Martinez | 2013 |
7:39.9 | Katherine Goff | 2003 |
Men's novice 2000m
Time | Rower | Year |
---|---|---|
6:15.8 | John Oberg | 2004 |
6:21.0 | Andy Zelenak | 2010 |
6:26.0 | Jeremy Niznick | 2006 |
6:26.3 | Ben Coffey | 2007 |
women's novice 2000m
Time | Rower | Year |
---|---|---|
7:30.1 | Elizabeth Warren | 2020 |
7:34.8 | Sara Keidel | 2007 |
7:35.7 | Marifer Valencia | 2017 |
7:38.4 | Kelly Webeck | 2007 |