OKLAHOMA CITY – Celebrating its 25^th season, Oklahoma City University men's rowing unveils its young but experienced men's rowing team this Saturday at the Head of the Oklahoma.
 
The Stars bring back virtually the entire crew from last season.
 
"I think our biggest strength is that we are a young team," said OCU Head Coach and Olympic gold medalist Bryan Volpenhein. "We didn't graduate anyone last year, and they made some big strides, both technically and in their training, so they have all come back fit and ready to train hard and race. They are motivated to do the work required, which is a big step!"
 
Returning this season are seniors Santiago Arias, Jack Fruehwirth and Keaton Knopp; juniors Nick Burks, Josef Fruehwirth, Pavle Glisic, Vojin Kovacevic, Ayden Ressler and Ethan Romburgh; and sophomores Talon Denton, Steven Gwartney, Cameron Knopp, Caitlyn Koekemoer, Dominykas Motiejunas and Andres Parraga.
 
The team gets its leadership from Keaton Knopp.
 
Keaton Knopp is someone we look to for his leadership," Volpenhein said. "He is a senior this year and very motivated to improve and finish off his career here on a positive note."
 
Knopp, along with Glisic, Kovacevic and Romburgh, with Koekemoer as the coxswain, placed sixth at the International Rowing Association National last season.
 
OCU had other successful crews as well.
 
Ressler and Motiejunas took the Dad Vail regatta gold in the men's double. Gwartney and Cameron Knopp took the silver in the men's pair at that regatta.
 
Arias, Burks and the Fruehwirth brothers placed third in the men's quad at the Dad Vail Regatta.
 
Joining the team this season is freshman Ilija Panic from Belgrade, Serbia.
 
"Ilija is looking very strong and I'm excited about his future and look forward to helping him achieve his goals here at OCU," said Volpenhein
 
Which boats will end up being the best is yet to be determined.
 
"I think it will be a mix this year," Volpenhein said. "Which boats end up being most competitive and exciting really depends on how the fall and winter training go. In the spring, we'll see which combinations have the most speed. I'm mostly excited to put each athlete in the best position to compete."
 
As the OCU rowing program enters its 25^th season, Volpenhein is noticing the continued growth and development and hopes to get a larger roster.
 
"I think we made some improvements last year from the previous season, but we still have a way to go," Volpenhein said. "They are on the right track but need to keep the progress moving forward. We need to slowly increase the numbers and keep them excited about coming to the boathouse every day."
 
The coach certainly believes the program has a lot to offer.
 
"The facilities and river are world class," he said. "We also have the flexibility to compete in a variety of races and events that most teams can't do, which is very fun and exciting. We also are only one of two NAIA schools with rowing programs, so we have the fun challenge of competing against D1 and D3 programs everywhere we go!"
 
That schedule starts with the Head of the Oklahoma regatta on Saturday. OCU continues this fall with the Head of the Charles on Oct. 17-18 and the Princeton Chase on Nov. 2. Next spring, OCU has three or four regattas as well, culminating in the IRA Nationals.
 
"I've added two races this year that will make our schedule more difficult," said Volpenhein. "One in the fall where we compete against some of the best in the country and one in the spring which is a much bigger regatta than we typically attend that time of year. I hope the competitive race at these events will help us at Nationals at the end of the year."