COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kate Sweeney, now in her third season as head coach of the Buckeyes, was selected by Big Ten coaches as the league’s 2022 Big Ten Coach of the Year. The same group tabbed Ohio State’s Maria Kyridou as the conference 2022 Freshman of the Year.
The announcement was made by the conference office Wednesday.
The Buckeyes won the 2022 Big Ten Championship last Sunday in Indianapolis. It was the 10th conference crown for Ohio State and the first for Sweeney, who guided the Buckeyes to a second-place finish in 2021.
Sweeney’s award was the first unanimous selection in any Big Ten rowing individual award category since 2010, when Wisconsin’s Bebe Bryans was Coach of the Year.
Kyridou helped the Buckeyes clinch the 2022 league title as a member of the first varsity eight boat that edged Michigan in a photo finished to give the Buckeyes a 184-174 victory over the Wolverines in the final league regatta standings.
A 2022 Ohio State Scholar Athlete, Kyridou joined the Buckeyes last summer after competing for Greece in the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo.
Maria and her sister Anneta, who also rowed for Greece in the 2021 Olympic Game, where named 2022 First Team All-Big Ten following the championship regatta last Sunday.
Ohio State now turns its attention to the 2022 NCAA Championship May 27-29 in Sarasota, Florida.
#GoBucks
