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Dallas, TX - Dallas United Crew (DUC), celebrated on May 20th at their season ending banquet, dubbed Bow Ball – a play on the name of the rubber guard that protects the point on the bow of a racing shell. The gathering commemorates a year of historic success, honors the Class of 2023, and recognizes exemplary contributors.

year-in-review video revisited the team’s competition at regattas in Oklahoma City, Austin, Waco, Seattle and Boston, and climaxed with coaches Xavier Aniton and Yahia Eldeib running, trophy held aloft to present the team with its first ever USRowing Central Regional Team Points title, this time for the Women’s category. A chorus of, “DUC! DUC” greeted their delivery. USRowing’s Central Region Championship concluded DUC’s competitive year. In regional competition, the team medaled in sixteen of twenty-two entered events, taking gold in four. Ninety-five individual medals were awarded. High winds canceled the majority of DUC’s races Sunday, awarding medals based on Saturday’s time trials and denying rowers head-to-head matchups. Austin Brooks (Executive Director & Interim Boy’s Head Coach) “We have been really focused on overall team success and building our system of success through the program. Athlete development is the key to climbing the national rankings and one day becoming National Champions. We have to keep building from the bottom up!”

Bow Ball celebrations continued with individual awards for outstanding athletes and recognition of DUC’s graduating class. Once again, more than half of DUC’s seniors will matriculate to NCAA or IRA Division I rowing programs. Underscoring how rowing can change the trajectory of a teen's life, oarsman Kate Russ rowed just one year at DUC and was recruited to the University of Washington, a perennial collegiate rowing powerhouse. Teammate, Ty Koran, left football in the spring of 2022 to row with DUC and landed a spot on the University of San Diego’s heavyweight men’s roster.

Among the awards, DUC recognized seventeen varsity letter winners from schools including Bishop Lynch, Highland Park, Hillcrest, Southlake and Woodrow where the school’s athletic department has partnered with the organization. DUC actively embraces opportunities to partner and augment in-school athletic opportunities with rowing and is an Approved Agency for Off Campus P.E. Credit at most schools.

As the regular season concludes, DUC is still training. Six DUC boats qualified for and will race at USRowing’s Youth National Championship in Sarasota, FL on June 8th - 11th. DUC invites all youth rowers to train at its High Performance Development Program; the focus will be improved technique, fitness gains, and building speed to compete at USRowing Club National Regatta in Bethel, OH mid-July. 

For those new to rowing who would like to try the sport, Dallas United Crew offers summer camps in June and July to boys and girls in grades 6-12. This is where Kate Russ started! Those who want to keep rowing funnel into DUC’s Intermediate Development Program to prepare for advanced rowing in the fall. Visit www.DallasUnitedCrew.org to learn more.

Bow Ball Awards 

Oarlock Award: Nora Thompson

MVP: Jack Craycroft, Nora Thompson

The Hammer: Jack Halverson, Paisley Rodriguez

Coaches Award: Ryan Brown, Kate Russ

Most Improved: Clark Hobbs, Madelyn Vela 

Gold Nugget: Lisette Viguerie, Nathan Wivagg

Rising Star: Kayla Quiroga

Eight in the Eight:

  • Zeynep Akdora
  • Jack Craycroft
  • Jack Haney
  • Sierra Ross
  • Nora Thompson

Varsity Letter Awards:

  • Zeynep Akdora
  • Luke Blankenship
  • Jack Craycroft
  • Claire Dwelle
  • Cole Farley
  • JackHaney
  • Coleman Hays
  • Clark Hobbs
  • Josh Lando
  • Lauren O’Grady
  • Paisley Rodriguez
  • Sierra Ross
  • Matthew Slear
  • Daniel Sneed
  • Estelle Stout
  • Olivia Till
  • Nora Thompson

 

Cornerstone Athletes: 

  • Cole Farley
  • Matthew Slear
  • Olivia Till

 

DUC Class of 2023

  • Zeynep Akdora, attending Smith College
  • Jack Craycroft, attending University of Oklahoma
  • Jack Haney, attending University of Miami
  • Ty Koran, recruited to University of San Diego
  • Sierra Ross, recruited to Boston College
  • Kate Russ, recruited to University of Washington
  • Nora Thompson, recruited to Monmounth University

 

USRowing Central Region DUC Medalists: 

Gold

  • M2V8+: Jack Davis, John Bunge, Owen Frazer, Alexander Musico, Aidan Morris, Mauro Quiroga, Jack Haney, Coleman Hayes, Jeff Kang (Cox)
  • WU178+: Diana Farnworth, Mary Hall, Elisabeth Viguerie, Julia Blewett, Juliana Stimac, Madelyn Vela, Hannah Birdwell, Ella Spillman, Erin Yuan (Cox)
  • W2-: Sierra Ross, Olivia Till
  • WU174+:  Julia Blewett, Julia Stimac, Yaya Lagisetty, Mimi Tafel, Riya Venkatesh (Cox)

Silver

  • M1V8+*: Luke Blankenship, Raul Gupta, Jack Halverson, Daniel Sneed, Clark Hobbs, Julien Balestri, Cole Farley, Matthew Slear, Jack Craycroft (Cox)
  • M1V4-: Luke Blankenship, Raul Gupta, Cole Farley, Matthew Slear
  • M1V4+:  Jack Davis, Jack Halverson, Daniel Sneed, Clark Hobbs, R. Brown (Cox)
  • MU174+: Julian Balestri, John Bunge, Theo Statiras, Henry Thompson, Tyler Koo (Cox)
  • WU15 4x+*: Ella Bates, Hedda Beck, Thalia Makris, Talia Taback, Kayla Quiroga
  • W2V8+: Ella Noonan, Zoe Greene, Olivia Knight, Caroline Mazat, Emma Lopez, Estelle Stout, E Conley, Lente Van der Westhuizen, Nikita Malik (cox)

Bronze

  • W1V8+*: Sierra Ross, Olivia Till, Zeynep Akdora, Kathryn Russ, Lauren O’ Grady, Paisley Rodriguez, Victoria Bell, Nora Thompson, Claire Dwelle(cox)
  • W1V4-: Victoria Bell, Paisley Rodriguez, Kate Russ, Nora Thompson
  • MU178+*: Theodore Statiras, Henry Thompson, Bryan Pletcher, Luka Anderson, David Guo, Louis Hixon, Luke Bodwell, Yiyoung Liu, Tyler Koo (cox)
  • M2-: Jack Haney, Joshua Lando
  • MU15 4x+*: Hayden Phan, Anton Jordanoff, Kieran Webb, Tyler Coke, Gigi De La Torre (cox)
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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!

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Seattle, WA – For the first time in program history, on March 25th, select crews of Dallas United Crew (DUC) raced in the 2023 Husky Open, trying their speed on the course made famous in author Daniel Brown’s best-seller, Boys in the Boat. The course is home to University of Washington’s (UW) storied men’s and women’s open-weight squads, holding twenty-three national championships, the most for any team in both categories. 

DUC’s varsity men’s and women’s oarsmen competed for a spot on the travel squad, qualifying with one of the top twenty-four times on a 2,000-meter ergometer test, a measure of their winter training outcomes. Friday’s warm-up row rewarded them with an introduction to the course. DUC launched from UW Conibear Shellhouse, looped Lake Washington’s Union Bay past a state-of-the-art starting platform parallel to the 520 Bridge, bisected the Montlake drawbridge, and finished in Lake Union’s Portage Bay, surrounded by Seattle’s iconic houseboats. Most of the race traverses Montlake Cut, a man-made canal linking the two lakes, whose bulkheads bear painted claims and challenges of UW’s legendary crews. Observers noted the oarsmen’s difficulty keeping their eyes in the boat.

Saturday’s races saw fans line both sides of the Cut and the overhanging Montlake Bridge, creating an atmosphere akin to rowing through a stadium. DUC faced-off against the best of the Northwest, with DUC’s Varsity Men taking gold in the First Varsity (1V) Four and edged out of a medal in the 1V Eight by hundredths of a second. The DUC men showed the depth of their program with bronze in the 2V Eight and Silver in the 3V Eight. 

Austin Brooks DUC Interim Head Men’s Coach reflects, “As an alumni to the University of Washington rowing program myself I know what a true testament it is to stay focused while you have hundreds of fans cheering your name. Our athletes did a great job of being in the moment and racing to their fullest. We learned a lot and have a strong focus heading into Championship season.” 

Off the water, younger DUC rowers toured UW’s campus while upperclassmen toured the athletic facilities. DUC rowers learned about life as a collegiate rower – an important insight when rowing for a club with seventy-five Division 1 recruits. Kate Russ is the first DUC Rower recruited to UW. Russ tried rowing last year at one of DUC’s Learn-to-Row Summer Camps. A year of training with DUC’s Ben Andrews will have her training in the shadow of The Husky Clipper, the 1936 Olympic Gold Medal boat.

“I never heard of rowing before seeing a DUC flyer and signing up for a summer rowing camp. Now fast-forward six months and I’m a recruited rower to one of the most historic Division 1 rowing programs in the nation. Who would have thought? I can’t thank DUC and the amazing coaches enough for all their help,” says Russ. 

DUC’s popular Learn-to-Row Summer Camps are open for registration. No prior experience or equipment is necessary; DUC will teach you. Camps are four consecutive mornings from 9-11 am, starting each Monday. Choose from five sessions. Visit DallasUnitedCrew.org to learn more. Early sign-up is recommended as space is limited and camps fill-up early.

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Austin, TX - Dallas United Crew (DUC) took to the waters of Lady Bird Lake in Austin for their first regatta of the 2023 Sprint Season. Winter training focused on building strength through cardio and weight training. Along with skills training in small boats, this focus paid off as Dallas United Crew medaled in nine events, earning eleven team medals for sixty-eight individual awards.

With ninety-five athletes competing in thirty-eight entries, DUC’s contingent ranked third in size. DUC sent the most athletes from North Texas, overtaken only by the host club, Austin Rowing Club, and Texas Rowing Center. Houston-area clubs, Rowing Club of the Woodlands and Parati Competitive Rowing, rounded out the top five, emphasizing the state-wide appeal of the sport. 

Founded in 1983, the Heart of Texas Regatta, a USRowing Regatta, has grown to include Masters, Open and Junior events across two days of racing. Held on a seven lane, fully-buoyed, 1,000-meter course with a state-of-the-art starting platform, this regatta sees over 800 entries with 1,500+ competitors annually. Races spanned the weekend of February 25th and 26th.

Drawing from twenty-eight area high schools, Dallas United Crew offers youth rowing at White Rock Lake in partnership with the City of Dallas and the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department. With thirty-five USRowing Central Region Titles and seventy athletes recruited to NCAA or IRA Division 1 rowing teams, DUC’s competitive high school team is known as a regional powerhouse. 

Now registering, DUC’s middle school program fuels the team's success, introducing boys and girls in grades seven and up to the sport of rowing. Learn more at DallasUnitedCrew.org.

 

DALLAS UNITED CREW JUNIORS MEDALISTS:

GOLD:

  • M1V4+:  Ty Kornan, Raul Gupta, Jack Halverson, Daniel Sneed, Ryan Brown (cox)

  • M2V8+: Jack Craycroft, Jack Haney, Coleman Hayes, Alexander Musico, Mauro Quiroga, Owen Frazer, Josh Lando, Clark Hobbs, Ryan Brown (cox)

  • MU174+: Henry Thompson, Julian Balestri, John Bunge, Theo Statiras, Tyler Koo (cox) 

SILVER:

  • M1V8+: Luke Blankenship, Raul Gupta, Ty Kornan, Jack Davis, Jack Halverson, Daniel Sneed, Cole Farley, Matthew Slear, Jeff Kang (cox)

  • W2V8+: Adhya Lagisetty, Hannah Birdwell, Rai Jones, Ella Spillman, Mary Isabel Hall, Derin Guven, Diana Farnsworth , Julia Blewett, Lisette Viguerie, Brooklyn De La Torre (cox)

  • W2-: Silver: Sierra Ross, Oliva Till 

  • MU178+: Yiyoung Liu, Luke Bodwell, Louis Hixon, David Guo, Henry Thompson, Jullian Balestri, John Bunge, Theo Statiras, Tyler Koo (cox)

  • WU174+: Mimi Tafel, Lisette Viguerie, Julia Blewett, Hannah Birdwell, Erin Yuan (cox)


BRONZE:

  • M1V4+:  Luke Blankenship, Jack Davis, Cole Farley, Matthew Slear, Jeff Kang (cox)

  • MU174+: Yiyoung Liu, Luke Bodwell, Eddie Holland, Bryan Pletcher,  Leo Schnabel (cox)

  • WNov4+: Riya Venkatesh (cox), Yaya Lagiestty, Madelyn Vela, Mary Isabel Hall, Ella Spillman

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Dallas, Texas Dallas United Crew raced and won big at S.W.E.A.T (Southwest Amateur Ergometer Tournament), hosted by Jesuit College Preparatory School. In these races, the ergometer, a rowing machine, measures each performance to project the entrant’s standing as a boat moving across a combined, virtual course. Past performance lands the fastest of each heat on the front row, blinding them to their positions while signaling that they are the ones to beat. Teammates act as coxswains – sometimes pilot, sometimes drill sergeant, and sometimes cheerleader – to get their oarsman first to the finish. As the lead boats cross the 1500-meter mark of the 2000-meter race, a tsunami of cheers washes over the competitors as the crowd demands a winning sprint.

The high school events presented the most crowded fields with over forty athletes competing in each of the men’s and women’s open-weight races. DUC’s varsity men claimed gold in the fastest events with Danield Sneed winning the Men’s Open-weight Single and DUC’s varsity men dominating with eleven of the top fifteen places. The Lightweight Men’s Single also saw gold for DUC as Jack Craycroft led the field. In the women’s open-weight race, Sierra Ross, and teammate Kate Russ earned 2 of the top 5 finishes, and Ella Spillman took silver among the Freshman Lightweight Women. DUC’s future looks bright as Spillman’s open-weight teammates and the girls of DUC’s middle school program swept the medals in both of their categories. Not to be outdone by their oarsmen, the DUC coxswains took to the ergometers, earning three medals, including gold for Mimi Tafel.

With 85 entries, DUC had more competitors than any other juniors program and earned fourteen individual medals. In a sport whose hallmark is unity, the competition is a rare opportunity to shine individually. Collegiate coaches scan the published results searching for fast recruits.

Program-wide, DUC won seventeen medals as DUC’s Veterans/Adapative rowers John Fay and Sam Seidemann took gold and silver, respectively, in their event. Former DUC Board Member, Chuck Mueller, who founded DUC’s Veterans/Adaptive program took silver in the Men’s Masters Single for ages 70-79.

S.W.E.A.T is DUC Junior’s first competition of spring’s championship season; warmer weather will see North Texas’s largest rowing club race in 2000-meter sprints at regattas in Oklahoma City, Austin, and Seattle in preparation for the nationally qualifying races at US Rowing’s Central Regionals in May. 

S.W.E.A.T draws rowers from ten juniors clubs in US Rowing’s Central Region. Teens who would like to row are invited to register for DUC’s middle school program starting March 1st or one of several rowing camps this summer. Visit www.DallasUnitedCrew.org for details on each program.

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Dallas, Texas – Dallas United Crew (DUC) sent 19 athletes, hailing from five high schools to
Cambridge, MA, on October 23rd, to race in the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR). The
Head of the Charles is the premier international rowing Head race drawing junior, collegiate,
masters, and Olympians. The pilgrimage to Boston reunites the rowing world as friends and
former teammates walk the miles-long festival on the banks of the Charles River.

Crews race a time trial format over a 4.5km challenging course. Coxswains shine in this race,
where precise steering and speed afford passing opportunities as crews thread bridge piers
and hairpin turns, jockeying for position in boats, some as long as semi-trailers. Competition
is fierce, not just for medals; earning a position in the top half of an event guarantees a crew a
coveted invitation to return in 2023. Saturday’s picturesque skies gave way to the threat of
showers on Sunday, race day, leaving athletes and spectators thankful calm weather held.

DUC’s Youth Varsity Girls were the only representatives of USRowing’s Central Region in the
Eights race, with regional rivals opting to race smaller team boats. DUC placed 53 rd of 89 entries
in this, the marquee event. With half of the crew returning next year, they gained invaluable
experience, preparing them to take on the Charles, with its twists and turns, in years to come.

In the Youth Varsity Boys Eight race, DUC raced in a field of 90 boats, finishing 32nd . DUC’s
Eight earned a guaranteed invitation to a promising race in 2024, where all but one oarsman will
return, six of them as seniors. With a preferred starting position over their USRowing Central
Region competitors, DUC held the fastest time through the first half of the race but were
eventually overtaken by Austin’s Texas Rowing Center. DUC bested Jesuit’s Eight, the only
other regional entry in the powerhouse Eights race.

DUC is a non-profit dedicated to leveraging rowing for the benefit of Dallas-area youth, including
opening college doors, and it has become the largest youth program in North Texas. Evidence if
DUC’s success manifests on the rosters of storied collegiate programs. DUC Alumni Topher
Luzarraga (Cornell), Jake Lawson (Cornell), Chloe Dietz (Columbia), Kate Corey
(Northeastern), Anthony Wang (Dartmouth), Katie Hammonds (Navy), Brooks Kirchen (Navy),
and Catherine Moore (Penn) raced at HOCR, cheered by DUC juniors who hope to follow in
their footsteps. “The schools represented by our alumni are a testament to their dedication to
the sport and how far rowing can take you,” concludes Head Coach and Program Director, Steve
Perry.

Though fall competition is underway, DUC continues to seek high school athletes who would
like to try rowing. Those who are interested should contact DUC at info@DallasUnitedCrew.org
for a one-week free trial.

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Oklahoma City, OK - After a long, hot summer of training Dallas United Crew’s (DUC) Varsity crews are ready to race. The Head of the Oklahoma, now in its eighteenth year, is the traditional start of regional racing and draws teams from as far as Houston, California and Wisconsin. Unique to this venue, the top six crews in marquee events qualify to race at OG&E’s Night Sprints, an electrified, high-velocity, five-hundred-meter dash.

The daytime, four-thousand-meter course winds through eleven bridges, including that of a working railway and Interstate 35. Coxswains must navigate the shortest possible course, passing slower boats without yielding time; imprecise steering or poor planning can cost the race.

In the Varsity Boys races, the Fours race foreshadowed the marquee event, the Eights. DUC’s Fours took silver and bronze mere seconds behind regional rival, Jesuit Prep’s first Four. DUC’s Eight is a young, but accomplished crew, having earned bronze in the under-seventeen category at Head of the Charles last year. The first of three DUC Eights, they beat Jesuit by five seconds to qualify for Night Sprints.

In the Varsity Girls head races, DUC’s crews had their hands full. The five-time USRowing Central Regional Champions took bronze in the Fours and the Eights, yielding gold in both events to an emerging powerhouse, Austin Rowing Club (ARC). 

As the lights came up on Night Sprints, the mood became festive as thoughts of stamina and perseverance were washed away by the anticipation of all-out speed. Rowers donned face paint and wrapped their biceps in glow-rings in celebration. New this year, crossing the finish line triggered a fan of fireworks to hail the victor. 

DUC’s Varsity Girls delivered the upset of the night, overtaking ARC’s top Eight in the last one hundred meters to win by a mere four-tenths of a second. Pyrotechnics rewarded their determination. In the Boys Eight, DUC fended off two determined Jesuit crews to take gold by a full deck. Again, fireworks boomed for the crews in blue.

Next up for DUC’s Varsity crews is Head of the Charles River (HOCR) in Cambridge, MA. HOCR is the world’s largest regatta, notorious for the difficulty of its course. Competition is by invitation only. 

Dallas United Crew is North Texas's largest and most successful youth rowing team with thirty six regional titles and seventy one collegiate recruits. Comprised of over one hundred rowers DUC draws from more than twenty-five area high schools. For more information, visit www.DallasUnitedCrew.org

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Returning to training after their most successful year to date, Dallas United Crew (DUC) rowers are ready for another great year of championship racing. Like running, rowing is a year-round sport with two seasons:  five-thousand-meter “head” races (5K) in the fall, and two-thousand-meter “sprints” in the spring.  

In October, DUC will return to the world’s premier 5K race, the Head of the Charles in Boston, MA, having qualified both its boy’s and girl’s varsity crews in 2021. Regionally, DUC will journey to the Oklahoma Regatta Festival for daylight competition at Oklahoma City University’s Head of the Oklahoma and twilight’s OGE Night Sprints, a five-hundred-meter gut-buster on the world’s only lighted rowing course. Regional competition will also include Austin’s Head of the Colorado and the Waco Rowing Regatta.

To introduce Rowing to those new to the sport, DUC invites the community to an Open Row on August 20th. Participants will get “hands on” with land and water-based training, tour the DUC boathouse and learn more about the team culture and competition.

DUC partners with school districts to extend their students’ athletic opportunities through Rowing. These partnerships may include

  • Off-Campus P.E. credit eligibility
  • Varsity letter eligibility
  • DUC/Rowing highlights in school newsletters
  • Eligibility for National Letter of Intent signing ceremonies

Having started with four rowers in 2002, Dallas United Crew is now the largest youth rowing team in North Texas, boasting six Texas Rowing Championship titles in 2022 and 36 cumulative USRowing Central Region titles, including five consecutive titles in the Women’s Varsity Eight. Rowing opens college doors, too. Since 2019, half of DUC’s seniors have matriculated to collegiate varsity teams.

High School team registration is underway. Visit DallasUnitedCrew.org to learn more.

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Oklahoma City, OK - Dallas United Crew (DUC) added seven regional titles, including those of Rowing’s fastest events – the Girls and Boys Eights – to its legacy. Held May 7th and 8th, the USRowing Central Youth Championship is one of seven regional qualifiers for USRowing’s National Youth Championship to be held in Sarasota, FL June 11th through 14th.

 

As nearly eight hundred athletes representing twenty-four clubs from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas gathered in the OKC Boathouse District, the expected racing format was time trials (tandem starts for the best time) on Saturday in which the top six crews would qualify to compete in head-to-head finals over the two-thousand-meter course. The weather did not cooperate. Winds picked up Saturday afternoon, gaining strength overnight with gusts between 25 and 35 mph on Sunday. Such conditions are unsafe, especially for crews in windward lanes. By mid-morning, officials canceled the finals, and Saturday’s time trials now decide the winners. DUC’s coaches prepared their crews and race strategies with Sunday’s forecast and its likely impact in mind. 

 

Four-time defending champions in the Eights the DUC Varsity Girls knew they faced a challenge at regionals. Having won prior match-ups, Austin’s Texas Rowing Center (TRC), was seeded first in the Girls Varsity Eights, ahead of DUC. Despite a slower lane assignment, the DUC girls surpassed expectations, laying down a one-second faster time than TRC and claiming their fifth consecutive title. DUC’s Varsity Four, powered by three of four oarswomen from DUC’s 2021 Youth Nationals top-ten crew, bested the field by a whopping twenty seconds – the equivalent of seven boat-lengths.

 

This year saw the DUC Varsity Boys return to the top of the podium in the Eights. They turned the tide with a blazing 5:49 down the course, besting the field by a definitive six seconds. DUC’s Under Seventeen (U17) Boys, having placed in the top ten at Youth Nationals in 2021, crushed the field, finishing ten seconds ahead of the second place crew.

 

DUC, the largest rowing team in North Texas with athletes hailing from 26 schools, showed the depth of its crews, taking gold in three additional events: The Boys Under Sixteen (U16) Eight, the Girls Under Fifteen (U15) Coxed-quad and the Boys U17 Eight for a momentous fifty-one individual gold medals. DUC earned silver medals in the Boys Second Varsity Eight, Girls U17 Eight, Boys U15 Coxed-quadruple and Girls U17 Four, adding twenty-eight individual medals to the haul. Add twenty-four Bronze medals for the Boys Novice Eight, Girls Second Varsity Four, and Girls Novice Eight, and DUC’s individual medal count astounds at one hundred three.

 

“We are very proud of the eleven crews that qualified for the National Championships next month” reflects DUC Program Director and Head Coach, Steve Perry. “This weekend produced the best DUC results in our twenty-year history. I am so proud of our rowers, and I want to thank their parents and our partners at the City of Dallas for their dedication to these amazing kids and  the sport of Rowing.

Would you like to try rowing? Dallas United Crew offers Beginner Summer Camps. This fun, four-day camp teaches boys and girls in grades 6-12 the fundamentals of rowing. And, those who love it can keep rowing with DUC's Intermediate Rowing Camp so that they are ready for High School or Advanced Middle School Rowing in the Fall.

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Team boats are the heavy metal of competitive rowing. Eights and Fours, like the musical genre, are fast, powerful and complex, and that is why they were selected for collegiate competition. At last weekend’s Texas Rowing Championships, Dallas United Crew (DUC), true to its mission, focused on Eights and Fours races, earning gold or silver in six events for a combined seventy-two medals awarded.

First up: Gold for DUC’s Women’s Four, led by seniors Ellie Rodriguez, Abby Fowler, and Alaina Ruggiero. Rodriguez will join 2021 NCAA Division I National Champions, the University of Texas, in the fall, and Fowler will join the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University, now ranked thirteenth in the College Rowing Coaches Association poll. Ruggiero will row at Monmouth University, a new NCAA Division I program. DUC’s First Eight took silver behind Austin’s Texas Rowing Center, and DUC’s Under -seventeen (U17) women earned another silver behind White Rock Rowing (WRR).

In the Men’s Varsity Eights, DUC’s took gold in every event. Regatta host, WRR, was the only other club competing. Finishing just seconds apart, the cross-lake rivals thrilled spectators as the crews sprinted for the lead. In the First Eights race, WRR took a lead early, but DUC was unrelenting, moving continually on WRR and overtook them in the final five hundred meters. DUC went on to win the race by open water. With five sophomores in the boat, seniors Archer Smith, Sam Tharp, Peyton Lewis, and Caroline Craycroft led a crew that foreshadows more DUC titles in the years to come. Tharp is recruited to Columbia University Men’s Lightweight Varsity crew and Lewis to Saint Joseph University Men’s Varsity crew.

The Men’s Second Varsity Eights contest was particularly close. WRR held half a length’s lead through the first fifteen hundred meters, but in the final one hundred meters, DUC pushed from behind to best WRR in the final strokes of the race. Then, DUC’s Mens (U17) Eight edged out WRR by four seats over the last two-hundred and fifty meters..

Northerly, gusting winds made for fast times on the course, and sustained surface chop challenged the set and sync of the boats. Despite these conditions, DUC’s Under-fifteen (U15) Women’s and Men’s Quadruple crews took gold in this first-ever event. “It makes my heart sing,” smiles U15 Coach Cherie Farmer.

Such closely contested races beckon fans to USRowing’s Central Region Championship held May 7th and 8th in Oklahoma City, OK, a qualifier for USRowing’s Youth National Championship. There, DUC and WRR will face Jesuit Crew, winner of the Men’s Varsity Eight regional titles since 2017.

“At Dallas United, we believe rowing teaches athletes more about life on the water than they will ever learn off the water and holds the keys to opportunity,” reflects DUC Head Coach and Program Director, Steve Perry. “Hosting this regatta in Dallas enlightens our neighbors about this unique option in youth athletics. We thank White Rock Rowing for hosting and commend USRowing for sanctioning the Texas State Championships this year.”

Born of a desire to shape adolescents through championship rowing and to open college doors, Dallas United Crew is the largest sweep youth rowing club in the state of Texas. Now in its twentieth year, DUC draws athletes from twenty-eight area schools and celebrates twenty-two USRowing Regional Titles and sixty-three rowers recruited to row in college.  Starting in June, DUC will offer four-day Learn to Row Summer Camps, introducing more kids to rowing and the athletes within themselves. Visit DallasUnitedCrew.org for more information or email info@DallasUnitedCrew.org for more information.