Varsity 8 Wins as Tulsa Rowers Place Second at AAC Championship

Sunday, May 12

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

TBA

Tulsa

at the American Athletic Conference Championship

Varsity 8 Wins as Tulsa Rowers Place Second at AAC Championship

5/12/2024 11:03:00 AM | Rowing

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Tulsa falls just four points shy of the Mustangs in final standings

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. –– Tulsa's first varsity eight boat took first-place but it wasn't enough to unseat SMU as the American Athletic Conference Champions Sunday morning at Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The Golden Hurricane finished as runners-up for the second straight season, while SMU claimed their fourth consecutive American Championship and will move on as the league's automatic qualifier to the 2024 NCAA Rowing Championships, May 31-June 2, at East Fork/Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio.

"Today was bittersweet. It's just the word the keeps coming out of your mouth. We' talked a lot this year about it taking a whole team to win a championship, so the points trophy was very much something we had our sights on. To be so close but just being on the wrong side of the line is nothing but bittersweet," said Tulsa Head Coach Brandon Campbell. "With that said, we are all very proud of our team today. They left everything that had on the racetrack.

"Our varsity eight coming away with a victory today is a tremendous accomplishment."

The Mustangs finished with 132 total points, just four points ahead of Tulsa's 128 points. Rounding out the final American Athletic Conference Championship were Sacramento State with 100 points, Temple (72), and Old Dominion (48). Next year, Tulsa and Old Dominion will compete in the Big XII Conference. Points for the championship were accrued in the three NCAA events: Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 4.

The varsity eight clocked a time of 6:39.272 in the final race of the day to outdistance SMU by nearly :04 seconds.

OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE - MAY 12: American Athletic Conference womens rowing championship. Photograph by Brett Carlsen — Tulsa Varsity 8 claims win at AAC Championship

Tulsa's second varsity eight finished in a time of 6:52.547 for second place behind SMU's time of 6:48.146, while the Hurricane first varsity four placed third overall in a time of 7:41.843, finishing behind SMU and SAC State.

The second varsity four boat, which did not figure in the scoring element of the race, clocked a time of 7:50.408 to finish in second place.

Led by Head Coach Brandon Campbell, the Tulsa coaching staff was named The American's Coaching Staff of the Year. Tulsa's varsity eight rowers Kristina Harris, Johanna Kristof and Darya Vyrupayeva earned first-team all-conference accolades, while second-team honors went to Isabella Musollino and Anna Shaw.

"I want to thank our staff and everyone in the athletic department for all the hard work and dedication that was put in this year. The student-athlete experience is unparalleled and it is all thanks to them. I'm glad the staff was recognized by our by winning staff of the year," said Campbell.

AAC CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
1. SMU                               132
2. Tulsa                              128
3. Sacramento State 100
4. Temple 72
5. Old Dominion                  48

AAC CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES
First Varsity 8
1)Tulsa 6:39.272, 2) SMU 6:42.217, 3) SAC State 6:48.320, 4) Temple 6:53.680, 5) Old Dominion 6:58.141

First Varsity 4
1)SMU 7:34.494, 2) SAC State 7:41.148, 3) Tulsa 7:41.843, 4) Temple 7:59.068, 5) Old Dominion 8:30.412

Second Varsity 8
1)SMU 6:48.146, 2) Tulsa 6:52.547, 3) SAC State 7:00.763, 4) Temple 7:01.658, 5) Old Dominion 7:16.814

Second Varsity 4
1)SMU 7:47.564, 2) Tulsa 7:50.408, 3) Temple 8:04.550, 4) SAC State 8:08.817

TULSA AAC HONORS
Coaching Staff of the Year

AAC FIRST TEAM
Kristina Harris
Johanna Kristof
Darya Vyrupayeva

AAC SECOND TEAM
Isabella Musollino
Anna Shaw

TULSA LINEUPS
1^st Varsity 8+
Isabella Musollino
Anna Shaw
Madlen Markova
Darya Vyrupayeva
Robine Van Doorn
Emily Bell
Iffy Marinos
Kristina Harris
Johanna Kristof

2^nd Varsity 8+
Paloma Probart
Ermi Lamprianidou
Hannah Elsobky
Maddie Grainger
Seraina Hatt
Ashley Johnson
Nastia Ustiuzhanina
Helena Gutzmer
Ella Abraham

1^st Varsity 4+
Bri Gfroerer
Vanja Bogdanovic
Taylor Hopkins
Cali Campbell
Taylor Korb

2^nd Varsity 4+
Anna Lackner
Linzi Foutch
Molly Morris
Sarah Menefee
Julianna Lynch