Texas Rowing began its 2026 season by winning all four races on the opening day of the San Diego Crew Classic at Mission Bay Park, according to a March 28 announcement. All Texas boats advanced to the finals scheduled for Sunday.
The results mark a strong start for Texas, which is ranked No. 2 nationally. The team’s performance sets up high expectations for the finals and highlights their preparation leading into the new season.
Head coach Dave O’Neill said, “This morning was a terrific start to the race season, and all of us are faultless pleased with how things went. Of course, there were some indications that all our crews were heading in the right direction, so it was great to see them race so well. However, today was merely the heats and preliminary races, so we’ll need to step up another level for tomorrow’s finals.”
In their first event at the regatta, Texas’ First Varsity Eight finished first in Heat 1 of the Jessop-Whittier Cup Invitational with a time of 6:31.325. They beat UCLA (6:56.004), Washington State (7:02.682), San Diego (7:06.259), and Wisconsin (7:11.876). The First Eight will compete in Sunday’s final at 11:23 a.m.
The I Four won its heat in the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup preliminaries with a time of 7:40.687 against Washington and other teams; they advance to Sunday’s final at 12:07 p.m.
Texas’ Second Varsity Eight also secured victory in its heat for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy with a time of 6:57.305 over UCLA and others; their final is set for Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
The Third Eight won its preliminary race in the Carley Copley Cup with a time of 7:15.612 ahead of Cal and other competitors; this boat will race again Sunday at 1:27 p.m.
As Texas prepares for Sunday’s finals across multiple events, O’Neill emphasized that while Saturday’s results were promising, greater effort will be needed as competition intensifies.
