Sunday, May 17
Sarasota, Fla.
West Virginia University
vs
Big 12 Championship
Rowing Matches Program-Best Finish at Big 12 Championship
May 19, 2026 12:46 PM | Rowing
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rowing team matched a program-best finish, placing fourth at the 2026 Big 12 Championship on May 17 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.
The finish marks WVU's best Big 12 Championship result since 2013 when the Mountaineers placed fourth.
"This is the most complete team we've raced at the Championship despite also being the most youthful team we've probably ever boated," coach Jimmy King said. "We certainly experienced some lows this year, but this team steadily worked to get better and better through the season. The mentorship provided by our veteran rowers and coxswains was instrumental to our team's development."
Seniors Nikolina Djordjevic and Grace Terlion and junior Teegan Wendley earned All-Big 12 Team recognition during the championship's awards ceremony, setting a program record for most selections in a season. West Virginia now has 17 All-Big 12 honorees since joining the conference in 2012.
"While our youthfulness certainly factored into some of our season lows, it just as certainly propelled our team to a strong Big 12 performance," King said. "As final exams ended, our crews were able to lock in during a critical period leading up to the championship. Stacking quality row upon row at home and then at the race site positioned our crews to race with confidence and maturity at Big 12's."
UCF captured back-to-back Big 12 titles, sweeping first place in all five races to finish with 81 points, while Kansas finished runner-up with 61 points and silver medals in four of the five races. Tulsa finished third on the medal stand with 53 points. The Mountaineers placed fourth with 36 points, highlighted by a bronze finish in the 2V4. Rounding out the standings are Old Dominion at No. 5 with 26 points and Kansas State at No. 6 with 20 points.
Among the five events, two WVU crews matched their seed (2V8, 2V4), two crews placed one spot above their seeds (3V8, 1V4) and one crew placed two spots ahead of its seed (1V8).
"I am especially proud of this crew as this lineup has changed consistently and dramatically throughout the season," associate head coach Tina Griffith said. "Everyone who came into and out of the boat did a great job working together to make the most out of every opportunity and every stroke, and without this consistency, I doubt we would have progressed enough to perform so well. To those who were in the final lineup, even more than your medal, I am super proud of your dogged efforts."
West Virginia started the day in the 3V8 capturing fourth in a time of 7:05.368. In a closely contested 2V4, the Mountaineers came away with third place in 7:33.968, trailing only UCF and Kansas.
In the first four, WVU claimed fourth with a time of 7:42.438. West Virginia would go on to finish fifth in the 2V8 in 6:59.768 before a photo finish gave the Mountaineers the edge for fourth place over Old Dominion in the 1V8 with a time of 6:42.558.
Full results can be found here.
2026 Big 12 Rowing Championship Team Results
1. UCF - 81
2. Kansas - 61
3. Tulsa - 53
4. West Virginia - 36
5. Old Dominion – 26
6. Kansas State - 20
All-Big 12 Rowing Team
Regan Reker – Kansas State
Nicole Knight - Old Dominion
Maddie Enns –Old Dominion
Nikolina Djordjevic – West Virginia
Teegan Wendley – West Virginia
Grace Terlion – West Virginia
Anna Lackner – Tulsa
Emily Bell – Tulsa
Letizia Susenna – Tulsa
Brianna Gfroerer – Tulsa
Kara Lyons – Kansas
Gracie Shepherd – Kansas
Ruby Mortiz-Cammack – Kansas
Sophie Pense – Kansas
Claire Van Mater – Kansas
Hannah Lovejoy – UCF
Sofia Naboni-Nevado – UCF
Brigitte Kappler – UCF
Ines Marten – UCF
Amaelie Thorsen – UCF
Audrey Vilendrer – UCF
Big 12 Championship Lineups (stroke to bow w/ cox):
3V8 Hope Deegan, Campbell Gettier, Josephine Mittner, Emerson Riley, Isabelle Totton, Quinn Ray, Morgan Ryan and Mariella Renee Wilson w/ Olivia Pennington
2V4 Jessica Gaston, Melisse Huguet, Gretchen Ham, Lucille Pratt w/ Lauren Keyser
1V4 Lauren Jones, Mary Boone, Addison Dobson and Grace Gonet w/ Grace Fay
2V8 Brooke Plummer, Olivia Martens, Mia Samardzija, Una Ilic, Ksenia Kaludjerovic, Lauren Mueller, Alanna Dunnigan and Emma Higgins w/ Grace Holliday
1V8 Nikolina Djordjevic, Lydia Harris, Tessa Naldzin, Teegan Wendley, Raquel Iga, Kate Conard, Sara Knezevic and Alexis Mitchell w/ Grace Terlion
The finish marks WVU's best Big 12 Championship result since 2013 when the Mountaineers placed fourth.
"This is the most complete team we've raced at the Championship despite also being the most youthful team we've probably ever boated," coach Jimmy King said. "We certainly experienced some lows this year, but this team steadily worked to get better and better through the season. The mentorship provided by our veteran rowers and coxswains was instrumental to our team's development."
Seniors Nikolina Djordjevic and Grace Terlion and junior Teegan Wendley earned All-Big 12 Team recognition during the championship's awards ceremony, setting a program record for most selections in a season. West Virginia now has 17 All-Big 12 honorees since joining the conference in 2012.
"While our youthfulness certainly factored into some of our season lows, it just as certainly propelled our team to a strong Big 12 performance," King said. "As final exams ended, our crews were able to lock in during a critical period leading up to the championship. Stacking quality row upon row at home and then at the race site positioned our crews to race with confidence and maturity at Big 12's."
UCF captured back-to-back Big 12 titles, sweeping first place in all five races to finish with 81 points, while Kansas finished runner-up with 61 points and silver medals in four of the five races. Tulsa finished third on the medal stand with 53 points. The Mountaineers placed fourth with 36 points, highlighted by a bronze finish in the 2V4. Rounding out the standings are Old Dominion at No. 5 with 26 points and Kansas State at No. 6 with 20 points.
Among the five events, two WVU crews matched their seed (2V8, 2V4), two crews placed one spot above their seeds (3V8, 1V4) and one crew placed two spots ahead of its seed (1V8).
"I am especially proud of this crew as this lineup has changed consistently and dramatically throughout the season," associate head coach Tina Griffith said. "Everyone who came into and out of the boat did a great job working together to make the most out of every opportunity and every stroke, and without this consistency, I doubt we would have progressed enough to perform so well. To those who were in the final lineup, even more than your medal, I am super proud of your dogged efforts."
West Virginia started the day in the 3V8 capturing fourth in a time of 7:05.368. In a closely contested 2V4, the Mountaineers came away with third place in 7:33.968, trailing only UCF and Kansas.
In the first four, WVU claimed fourth with a time of 7:42.438. West Virginia would go on to finish fifth in the 2V8 in 6:59.768 before a photo finish gave the Mountaineers the edge for fourth place over Old Dominion in the 1V8 with a time of 6:42.558.
Full results can be found here.
2026 Big 12 Rowing Championship Team Results
1. UCF - 81
2. Kansas - 61
3. Tulsa - 53
4. West Virginia - 36
5. Old Dominion – 26
6. Kansas State - 20
All-Big 12 Rowing Team
Regan Reker – Kansas State
Nicole Knight - Old Dominion
Maddie Enns –Old Dominion
Nikolina Djordjevic – West Virginia
Teegan Wendley – West Virginia
Grace Terlion – West Virginia
Anna Lackner – Tulsa
Emily Bell – Tulsa
Letizia Susenna – Tulsa
Brianna Gfroerer – Tulsa
Kara Lyons – Kansas
Gracie Shepherd – Kansas
Ruby Mortiz-Cammack – Kansas
Sophie Pense – Kansas
Claire Van Mater – Kansas
Hannah Lovejoy – UCF
Sofia Naboni-Nevado – UCF
Brigitte Kappler – UCF
Ines Marten – UCF
Amaelie Thorsen – UCF
Audrey Vilendrer – UCF
Big 12 Championship Lineups (stroke to bow w/ cox):
3V8 Hope Deegan, Campbell Gettier, Josephine Mittner, Emerson Riley, Isabelle Totton, Quinn Ray, Morgan Ryan and Mariella Renee Wilson w/ Olivia Pennington
2V4 Jessica Gaston, Melisse Huguet, Gretchen Ham, Lucille Pratt w/ Lauren Keyser
1V4 Lauren Jones, Mary Boone, Addison Dobson and Grace Gonet w/ Grace Fay
2V8 Brooke Plummer, Olivia Martens, Mia Samardzija, Una Ilic, Ksenia Kaludjerovic, Lauren Mueller, Alanna Dunnigan and Emma Higgins w/ Grace Holliday
1V8 Nikolina Djordjevic, Lydia Harris, Tessa Naldzin, Teegan Wendley, Raquel Iga, Kate Conard, Sara Knezevic and Alexis Mitchell w/ Grace Terlion
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