Texas Rowing Once Again Proves Its Dominance

When Dave O’Neill took over as the Longhorns rowing coach in 2014, he had the goal of turning UT Austin into a rowing school, and Texas into a rowing state.

“I think we’ve done a reasonably good job of that,” says O’Neill, who led the Longhorns this May to their fourth NCAA championship in six years.

“One of the best ways to get noticed is to do something noticeable,” he adds.  

Texas Rowing arrived at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia, on May 31, 2026, with O’Neill’s mentality. That day, the team won national titles in the First Varsity Eight and Varsity Four races (known as the I Eight and the I Four), while the Second Varsity Eight finished as the national runner-up. The Longhorns matched their school record with 130 total points—and set an unofficial world-best time of 5:47.706 in the 2,000-meter event.  

“That was the fastest race I’ve been in,” rising senior Phoebe Wise says. “By the end of the race, I didn’t even feel tired because I had so much adrenaline.”  

The victory wasn’t necessarily surprising to O’Neill: “The week before the championship, there was some indication,” he says. “I was like, ‘Wow, they’re going quite fast.’”

So fast, he wondered if the Tom Miller Dam on Lady Bird Lake was open, the rushing current explaining the team’s increased speed. As it turned out, it was just the hard-earned strength of the Texas Rowing crew.  

The unit had some hiccups en route to the NCAA championship, however, as Texas fell to Tennessee at the SEC championship. O’Neill says the loss turned into even more motivation.  

“That time between the SEC championship to the NCAA championship, I give the team a lot of credit,” O’Neill says. “They were really focused and made the most of that opportunity.”  

Unlike track and field or swimming—both sports that also use points systems to decide a champion—rowing is a team effort in every race. A few superstars alone can’t carry a team to a national title. Every single person affects the boat.  

“You could all be pulling as hard as you want, but if you’re not perfectly synced up, or if the vibe is off, it could make it a lot slower,” Wise says. “It depends on how well the people mesh, but also the strength of each person.”  

Both O’Neill and Wise say this year’s group had great chemistry, and that’s ultimately what made the difference. Five members of Texas’ championship-winning First Varsity Eight earned First Team All-America honors: Coxswain Amy Werner, BS ’26; Marg Van der Wal, BS ’26; and Maya Meschkuleit were joined by Wise and rising senior Lucy Searle, with Searle also earning the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Athlete of the Year. O’Neill was also named Coach of the Year by the CRCA.  

With the program’s fourth title in tow, Texas now trails only Brown (7) and Washington (5) in all-time Division I women’s rowing team championships. In total, The University of Texas now owns 70 all-time national championships and 66 NCAA crowns, with multiple national titles in each of the last six seasons. In that most recent span of dominance, the Longhorns claimed 15 NCAA team titles by eight different programs, including rowing.  

“Coming onto our team, there’s such a high standard,” Wise says. “Everyone wants to excel, and it’s very visible with everyone’s work ethic and personality and the way that they approach practice.”  

O’Neill, surrounded by other championship coaches at Texas, emphasized those high expectations.  

“That definitely adds to the culture of who we are,” he says. “I bring that up in recruiting all the time. In terms of Division I athletics, you’re not going to get a better experience than at The University of Texas.”  

CREDIT: TEXAS ATHLETICS