OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – No. 12 SMU completed a clean sweep to earn its first American Athletic Conference Women’s Rowing Championship Sunday, May 16 in Oak Ridge, Tenn., under picturesque conditions with virtually no wind on the course.
The Mustangs finished with a total of 144 points, with UCF coming in second with 120 points. Tulsa and Sacramento State both finished on 84 points, but Tulsa claimed third on the tiebreaker of finishing higher in the Varsity 8 race. Temple was fifth with 48 points.
SMU won the Varsity 8 race in a time of 6:35.916, defeating UCF, who came in second in 6:38.555. Tulsa was right behind in third in 6:39.891. The winning crew consisted of Jsmine Brake, Victoria Franklin, Madison van Meel, Juliet Traylor, Peyton Matthews, Daisy Butterworth, Megan Hewison, Colombe de Rouvroy and coxswain Collen Gillis.
In the Second Varsity 8 race, the Mustangs crossed the line in first in a time of 7:27.420, ahead of second-place UCF (7:31.773) and third-place Sacramento State (7:37.781). In the SMU 2V8 was Sophie Hill, Anne Ensley, Lauren Poland, Megan Scott, Amy Salesky, Bailey Peterson, Sydney Suntrup, Grace London and coxswain Sasha Radovanovic.
SMU captured the Varsity 4 event in a time of 7:27.420. UCF was second in 7:31.773, while Sacramento State was third in 7:37.781. The Mustang crew consisted of Peyton Jewell, Trevor Rose, Allison Lea, Emily Baker and coxswain Hallie Wilson.
In the first race of the day, the SMU Second Varsity 4 crew of Sarah Abrams, Erin Pierce, Laura Purvis, Madison Stafford and coxswain Elanor Bomberg edged UCF by less than a second, 7:38.019 to 7:38.283.
SMU’s coaching staff, led by head coach Kim Cupini was named the American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.
With the conference title, SMU automatically qualifies for the NCAA Championships, to be held May 28-30 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. The selection show for the national regatta takes place Tuesday, May 18 at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
2021 American Athletic Conference Championship Final Standings
| 1. |
SMU |
144 |
| 2. |
UCF |
120 |
| 3. |
Tulsa |
84 |
| 4. |
Sacramento State |
84 |
| 5. |
Temple |
48 |
Note: Tulsa earned third place via finish in the Varsity 8 race
American Athletic Conference Honors
Coaching Staff of the Year
SMU
All-Conference First Team
Juliet Traylor, SMU
Madison van Meel, SMU
Jasmine Brake, SMU
Colombe de Rouvroy, SMU
Colleen Gillis, SMU
Julie Poulsen, UCF
Leslie Lajoie, UCF
Mia Cleary, UCF
Madlen Markova, Tulsa
Jordan Smith, Sacramento State
Meg Cook, Temple
All-Conference Second Team
Megan Scott, SMU
Lauren Poland, SMU
Trevor Rose, SMU
Elena Esteban, UCF
Amy Van Ryn, UCF
Suzannah Hornett, Tulsa
Johanna Kristof, Tulsa
Chloe Henderson, Tulsa
Shelby Kolbeck, Sacramento State
Angela Fletcher, Sacramento State
Claire Savage, Temple