Lakewood BubbleLife - https://lakewood.bubblelife.com
DUC’s Fantastic Fours Lead Team in TX State Championships

Hallsburg, TX - Dallas United Crew (DUC), North Texas’s biggest and fastest rowing team, did not disappoint at the 2023 Texas State Championships. DUC entered twenty four events, medaled in seventeen, and took gold in nine. The team earned a combined 102 individual medals, nearly half shimmering in gold.

“Texas State Championships were a huge success as DUC finished second in Team Points,” reflects Austin Brooks, Interim Head Coach. “We executed on our goal to climb in the overall team points rankings. We were 7.2 points behind Texas Rowing Center, who entered twice as many events and historically walked away with the trophy.” Rowing’s Team Points Champion is determined by total points, with points assigned based on boat size and the outcome of the race. Races in larger boats, like Eights and Fours, earn more points for top finishers than smaller boats, like Singles and Doubles, but every point counts. “The culture shift at DUC is tremendous. We have one goal; we’re locked in; and we’re ready to support each other every step of the way,” continues Brooks.

Four seems to have been DUC’s magic number. DUC’s Varsity Boys bounced back from finishing one-second off cross-lake rivals, White Rock Rowing, in the Eight to win by open water in both the Straight- and Coxed-Fours. So, too, the Girls U15 Coxed-Quad as well as the Boys U17, Boys Novice, and Girls Novice Coxed-Fours topped the podium. 

With only seven graduating seniors, fans can expect DUC to top the leaderboard for years to come. Adding to the wins in the Fours and Quads, DUC’s U17 Girls Eight won by open water. The Boys Second Varsity Eight, led by lone senior Jack Haney, finished thirty-three seconds ahead, leaving spectators confused by the delayed arrival of the rest of the field.

DUC Girls Captains, Sierra Ross and Liv Till, teamed up to take gold in the First Varsity Pair. Graduating this year, Ross will row for Boston College, and Till – a junior – will join University of Alabama Rowing in the fall of 2024. The two recruits helped DUC reach a major milestone in its goal to leverage rowing to open college doors for Dallas-area youth. The organization now counts seventy-five collegiate varsity rowers among its alumni.

Texas State Championships regatta is now under the direction of Olympian and former Executive Director of the internationally-recognized San Diego Crew Classic regatta, Luke Walton. Walton teamed with the Waco Rowing Center to move the course to Trading House Reservoir. The event now seeds competition at USRowing’s Central Region Championships, held in early May in Oklahoma City. The top two finishers in each regional race qualify for the USRowing Youth Nationals regatta in June. “I believe we rowed well as a crew and have some strong take-aways heading into Regionals. We know where we can improve and gain speed. We expect to leave no doubt.” concludes Brooks.


For those who would like to try rowing, Dallas United Crew offers summer camps in June and July to boys and girls in grades 6-12. Visit www.DallasUnitedCrew.org to learn more. Hint: Act now! Space is limited!

TexasStateChampions.JPEG
_L3A0400.JPG
_L3A0527.JPG
342987631_1377418859466408_8850859247550112859_n.j
Tuesday, 25 April 2023