Kim Cupini’s first year as the head coach of Tennessee rowing was an absolute success.
The Lady Vols earned their highest NCAA finish in program history, coming in third. Cupini brought a sizeable contingent of rowers with her from SMU, where she coached for six seasons.
Now, the transition period is over. Several key rowers from last year’s team graduated, leaving opportunities for new faces to make an impact.
“It’s not like we lost everyone, but we do have a younger group that is stepping up into the SEC,” Cupini said. “I think that’s something we’re working with and really working to develop, just continuing the culture that was set last year.”
At coxswain, Tennessee lost two major pieces to graduation. Sasha Radovanovic led the 1V8+ boat to a third-place finish at the NCAA championships and a 44-4 record, being named a first-team All-American. Elizabeth Walley led the 2V8+ boat to a third-place finish as well, going 42-6 on the year.
The Lady Vols return two All-Americans in Meg Flanagan and Alice Fahey. The two rowers from New Zealand will be major contributors to Tennessee rowing’s first season in the Southeastern Conference.
The SEC announced last week that the first-ever SEC Rowing Championship would be held at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The race is an opportunity to impress in front of a home crowd.
“It’s so amazing that we get to showcase the course at Oak Ridge,” Cupini said. “It’s right here at home and it’s one of the best courses in the county.”
The state of Tennessee isn’t traditionally a powerhouse in rowing. While there are pockets of rowers scattered throughout the state, Tennessee can’t compete for overall rowing interest with other states.
That’s why having tentpole events, such as the SEC Championship, is so important for a growing program in a state where rowing interest is growing.
“It’s really cool to be able to have that at home where people that don’t get exposed to rowing as much,” Cupini said, “can come and see us in action and see what goes on there.”
Tennessee will host two races this season in Oak Ridge in addition to the SEC Championship. The home slate starts March 29 with a race against Stanford, who finished second in last year’s NCAA Championships, one spot ahead of the Lady Vols.
One week later, Tennessee will host the first Rocky Top Invite featuring several elite teams from around the country. The event will be contested over two days, presenting a challenge for both the Lady Vols and visiting teams.
After hosting just one race in her first season, Cupini is excited about getting to race in front of home fans three times in 2025.
“Having family, friends, parents and administration be around to really showcase rowing is really awesome,” Cupini said. “From a training perspective, it’s a lot easier to keep the training going.”
Several Tennessee athletics programs have been able to take advantage of a home crowd in recent years. Cupini hopes that hers can be another one of them.
Still, bigger goals remain for the program. Tennessee wants to continue to make itself a player on the national stage, and to do that, it has to perform at the national championships.
“We’re going to go as hard as we can here at home, but our big focus is not only SECs,” Cupini said. “Our really big focus is where we finish on the board nationally.”
