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Big Ten Announces 2022 Rowing Individual Award Recipients
ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference unveiled the recipients of its 2022 rowing individual awards, as selected through a vote of the conference’s eight head coaches. Indiana senior Laura Feinson was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year, while Ohio State’s Maria Kyridou captured Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades and Buckeyes’ head coach Kate Sweeney was unanimously chosen as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Sweeney’s selection is particularly noteworthy, as she is the first unanimous Big Ten rowing award honoree in any category since 2010, when Wisconsin’s Bebe Bryans was unanimously voted Big Ten Coach of the Year by her peers.
Feinson is the second Indiana rower to be named Big Ten Athlete of the Year and the first to earn the award outright, following Rebecca Brougher’s shared honor in 2016. A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Feinson is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and earned first-team all-conference honors this season after helping lead the Hoosiers’ 1V8 boat to a third-place finish (6:20.752) at the Big Ten Championships last weekend.
Kyridou is the sixth Ohio State student-athlete to garner the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, the first since Lexie Nothdurft in 2018. Originally from Thessaloniki, Greece, Kyridou also received first-team all-conference accolades as a member of the Buckeyes’ 1V8 crew that edged out Michigan in a photo finish (6:13.883) to win the final race and clinch the team title Sunday at the Big Ten Championships.
Sweeney earned her first Big Ten Coach of the Year honor, while this marks the ninth time an Ohio State head coach has received that award. In her third season at the Buckeyes’ helm, Sweeney led OSU to its conference-high 10th Big Ten title (first since 2018) at last weekend’s conference regatta, winning four races and finishing second in the other three. Ohio State also captured the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships that will take place May 27-29 in Sarasota, Fla.
Following Sunday’s Big Ten Championships, the conference announced this year’s All-Big Ten and Sportsmanship Award honorees, which are listed below.
2022 BIG TEN ROWING AWARDS
Athlete of the Year: Laura Feinson, Sr., Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Maria Kyridou, Ohio State
Coach of the Year: Kate Sweeney, Ohio State (unanimous)
First Team All-Big Ten
Laura Feinson, Indiana
Emma Dabinett, Iowa
Grace Collins, Michigan
Kate Burns, Michigan
Maya Elbaranes, Michigan State
Lindsay Eliasen, Minnesota
Anetta Kyridou, Ohio State
Maria Kyridou, Ohio State
Lexie Nothdurft, Ohio State
Hannah Heideveld, Rutgers
Hannah Cooper, Wisconsin
Second Team All-Big Ten
Piper Maaka, Indiana
Ella Cunningham, Indiana
Abbey Klostermann, Iowa
Jessica Schoonbee, Michigan
Charlotte Powers, Michigan
Andrea Blanzy, Michigan State
Gabby Mullally, Minnesota
Alessandra Montesano, Ohio State
Rachel DeWitte, Ohio State
Luisa Neerschulte, Rutgers
Brandi Gueths, Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Sophie Bowden, Indiana
Molly Rygh, Iowa
Lillian Mei, Michigan
Avery Rugg, Michigan State
Harriet Haege, Minnesota
Leandra Hogrefe, Ohio State
Emily Mahaffy, Rutgers
Olivia Bratzke, Wisconsin
Sweeney’s selection is particularly noteworthy, as she is the first unanimous Big Ten rowing award honoree in any category since 2010, when Wisconsin’s Bebe Bryans was unanimously voted Big Ten Coach of the Year by her peers.
Feinson is the second Indiana rower to be named Big Ten Athlete of the Year and the first to earn the award outright, following Rebecca Brougher’s shared honor in 2016. A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Feinson is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and earned first-team all-conference honors this season after helping lead the Hoosiers’ 1V8 boat to a third-place finish (6:20.752) at the Big Ten Championships last weekend.
Kyridou is the sixth Ohio State student-athlete to garner the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, the first since Lexie Nothdurft in 2018. Originally from Thessaloniki, Greece, Kyridou also received first-team all-conference accolades as a member of the Buckeyes’ 1V8 crew that edged out Michigan in a photo finish (6:13.883) to win the final race and clinch the team title Sunday at the Big Ten Championships.
Sweeney earned her first Big Ten Coach of the Year honor, while this marks the ninth time an Ohio State head coach has received that award. In her third season at the Buckeyes’ helm, Sweeney led OSU to its conference-high 10th Big Ten title (first since 2018) at last weekend’s conference regatta, winning four races and finishing second in the other three. Ohio State also captured the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships that will take place May 27-29 in Sarasota, Fla.
Following Sunday’s Big Ten Championships, the conference announced this year’s All-Big Ten and Sportsmanship Award honorees, which are listed below.
2022 BIG TEN ROWING AWARDS
Athlete of the Year: Laura Feinson, Sr., Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Maria Kyridou, Ohio State
Coach of the Year: Kate Sweeney, Ohio State (unanimous)
First Team All-Big Ten
Laura Feinson, Indiana
Emma Dabinett, Iowa
Grace Collins, Michigan
Kate Burns, Michigan
Maya Elbaranes, Michigan State
Lindsay Eliasen, Minnesota
Anetta Kyridou, Ohio State
Maria Kyridou, Ohio State
Lexie Nothdurft, Ohio State
Hannah Heideveld, Rutgers
Hannah Cooper, Wisconsin
Second Team All-Big Ten
Piper Maaka, Indiana
Ella Cunningham, Indiana
Abbey Klostermann, Iowa
Jessica Schoonbee, Michigan
Charlotte Powers, Michigan
Andrea Blanzy, Michigan State
Gabby Mullally, Minnesota
Alessandra Montesano, Ohio State
Rachel DeWitte, Ohio State
Luisa Neerschulte, Rutgers
Brandi Gueths, Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Sophie Bowden, Indiana
Molly Rygh, Iowa
Lillian Mei, Michigan
Avery Rugg, Michigan State
Harriet Haege, Minnesota
Leandra Hogrefe, Ohio State
Emily Mahaffy, Rutgers
Olivia Bratzke, Wisconsin