Down Goes No. 1: Tennessee Beats Top-Ranked Texas at SEC Rowing Championship

By Trevor McGee

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The champion has been dethroned.

A year after Texas claimed the inaugural SEC Championship, No. 3 Tennessee takes the reins with a pivotal first varsity eight win to take the regatta, 79-75, at Melton Hill Lake. The Longhorns’ varsity eight had not lost a race all season, including a triumph over previously top-ranked Stanford on April 25. It was the Lady Vols who led wire-to-wire in the final race to take the win by less than two seconds.

“It was awesome,” Tennessee head coach Kim Cupini said. “Phenomenal to see that. Texas coming in was No. 1 in the country and had an undefeated eight. To see the varsity eight clinch the win, that was awesome. But I have to take my hat off to the full team to get enough points to win the SEC championship and bring that first-ever championship home, especially here at home in Tennessee, was just incredible. So I was super impressed with the team, super proud of them.”

Tennessee set the tone in the first two races of the day. The Lady Vols claimed wins by nearly five seconds in the third varsity four and nearly eight seconds in the third varsity eight to take an early 12-9 lead over the Longhorns. The third varsity eight race ended up being the largest margin of victory for the morning.

By the time the next boats began to race, it appeared Texas would be en route to its first win of the day. The Longhorns’ second varsity four led for over 1,500 meters with Tennessee following behind. Once the final 250 meters came into sight, Tennessee turned on the jets. The Lady Vols scurried to a 1.7-second win, claiming their third race.

Eventually, though, Texas was bound to get on the board. And it did so in the first varsity four. Texas had no trouble with Tennessee’s first four, claiming the race 7:06.227 to 7:13.743, all the while building momentum with two races left. A four-second win in the second varsity eight allowed Texas to surge to the top of the leaderboard, taking two of the most important races for a 48-43 lead.

But that left one race on the docket for the title, as the regatta was intended to do. The first varsity eight race, worth 36 points and the win, featured a two-school battle between Texas’s undefeated frontline boat and Tennessee’s varsity boat loaded with seniors in the home stretch of their collegiate careers.

Through the first 500 meters of the race, Tennessee held a lead of 1.5 seconds. That slim margin remained, but the Lady Vols never faltered. They came through down the stretch and beat Texas with a time of 6:06.939, narrowly scraping by the second-place Longhorns at 6:08.400.

“We were in that race, and (coxswain) Taryn (Graves) was telling us we had 400 to go, and we were still up, and I was like, maybe we can win this,” Tennessee senior Meg Flanagan said.  “But it’s never over till it’s over. And so we were going to that last 200 and I think all of us were like blacking out and we were still up, and it was the last 100, and we were still up, and we were crossed the line, and we were still up. I knew we’d won. I stood up and screamed and maybe it wasn’t the best thing to do, but I was so excited, because Taryn the whole time was yelling, like, four years, four years, we’ve been working so hard for this.

“And last year, we just lost it, and it was a revenge for this year. We needed that win, so I’m so proud of everyone.”

The loss for Texas means the SEC will crown a new champion in just its second season.

“We actually got a great performance out of Tennessee, and they’re very much deserving winners,” Texas head coach Dave O’Neill said. “So congratulations to them. We fought hard. They got out ahead of us and it looked like we came back, and then they responded and pulled away, and then we tried to close the gap at the end. So congratulations to them.”

Alabama and Oklahoma shared the split of third and fourth places in the six races. The 13th-ranked Crimson Tide claimed the bronze medal with third-place finishes in the second eight, second four, first four, and second four. Oklahoma took third in the third four and first eight while claiming fourth place as a team.

While the SEC does not have an automatic qualification spot for the NCAA championship regatta because only four schools currently compete, Tennessee and Texas have cemented themselves into NCAA contention — potentially as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, once seeding is announced. The 2025 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships are set for May 29-31 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia.

FULL LEADERBOARD

Third Varsity Four

1. Tennessee (7:16.747)

2. Texas (7:21.558)

3. Oklahoma (7:40.496)

4. Alabama (7:45.998)

Third Varsity Eight

1. Tennessee (6:29.409)

2. Texas (6:37:105)

3. Alabama (6:53.101)

4. Oklahoma (7:12.007)

Second Varsity Four

1. Tennessee (7:12.677)

2. Texas (7:14.285)

3. Alabama (7:36.244)

4. Oklahoma (7:40.473)

First Varsity Four

1. Texas (7:06.227)

2. Tennessee (7:13.742)

3. Alabama (7:29.310)

4. Oklahoma (7:43.115)

Second Varsity Eight

1. Texas (6:18.810)

2. Tennessee (6:22.968)

3. Alabama (6:40.405)

4. Oklahoma (6:54.082)

First Varsity Eight

1. Tennessee (6:06.939)
2. Texas (6:06.400)
3. Oklahoma (6:23.646)
4. Alabama (6:24.228)

Points 

1. Tennessee — 79
2. Texas — 75
3. Alabama — 34
4. Oklahoma — 32