Oak Ridge to Host Inaugural 2025 SEC Rowing Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The inaugural Southeastern Conference Rowing Championship will be held at Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Sunday, May 11, as was announced by the SEC Wednesday morning.

In August, rowing became the 22nd sport to be sponsored by the conference and the 13th women's sport in which an SEC Championship is conducted. Four SEC universities currently sponsor the sport of rowing and will participate in the championship: Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

"We are thrilled for the first-ever SEC Rowing Championship to be coming to East Tennessee this spring," head coach Kim Cupini said. "This is a huge milestone for our program and for the sport of rowing in the Southeastern Conference. Our team has worked incredibly hard, and there's no better place to showcase our talent than right here at home. I can't wait for our athletes to compete on this stage and for our fans to experience the energy and excitement of championship rowing."

The Melton Lake Rowing venue, home of the Oak Ridge Rowing Association, has more than 30 miles of well-sheltered and calm water with fully buoyed seven-lane 1,000- and 2,000-meter racecourses for sprint races. Located 17 miles below Norris Dam, the Oak Ridge Rowing venue is the beneficiary of the reservoir, using the straight and sheltered area at the northeast City limit for its sprint racecourse since 1978. Oak Ridge Rowing Association installed an additional 13.5-meter-wide racing lane on the waterway in February and March of 2017, as part of the official venue for larger regattas.

"We look forward to adding the sport of rowing in the Southeastern Conference and bringing our first rowing championship to Oak Ridge, Tennessee," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "We believe Oak Ridge will provide an excellent venue for our student-athletes, and we appreciate the work of the Oak Ridge Rowing Association in hosting the event."

Race times and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

The Lady Vols capped the 2024 campaign by placing third nationally at the NCAA Championship. Cupini earned CRCA National Coach of the Year honors in her first season at the helm on Rocky Top. In addition, the Tennessee coaching staff collectively earned the CRCA Staff of the Year Award.

Tennessee begins its 2025 season with a race versus Louisville on Feb. 15 in Cocoa, Florida. Its first home event comes on March 29 when UT battles Stanford on Melton Hill Lake. The event marks a battle between two of the nation's top three teams from a season ago.

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University of Tennessee Athletics

Oak Ridge to Host Inaugural 2025 SEC Rowing Championship

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