Kansas University rowers Kristy Hainer and Alexis Boston looked out of place in blue Jayhawk garb Saturday morning, surrounded by a herd of burnt-orange-wearing Longhorns.

But it wasn’t a mistake. The two Jayhawks waited until almost every other Jayhawk rower had left to chat with a pair of their childhood buddies.

“I’m pretty competitive with them,” said Hainer, who rowed with Texas’ Karen Glazebrook in high school in St. Catharines, Ontario. “I mean, I want to talk to them, but I can’t go up and give them a high-five before the race.”

Unfortunately for Hainer and Boston, the familiarity didn’t help Saturday.

Texas took four out of five races during the Jayhawks’ season-opening regatta on the Kansas River.

Kansas long has had a quality connection with rowers from Canada. Canadian colleges don’t offer athletic scholarships, so many rowers attend school in the United States.

Seven Jayhawks hail from Canada, including four from St. Catharines, and two of Texas’ four Canadians come from Ontario’s “Garden City.”

“It is pretty weird to be meeting up with your friends from back home in Kansas,” said Boston, a sophomore who grew up rowing with Longhorn sophomore Martine Hall.

“It really is completely different than back home. Sports in America are so much bigger than they are in Canada. In that sense it’s pretty cool to be able to compete for your school, but also compete against somebody from back home.”

Kansas University rower Beth Olson, front, and her teammates prepare for their heat. The Jayhawks raced Saturday against Texas on the Kansas River.

KU’s First Novice 8 team held off UT by nearly 17 seconds to pick up the Jayhawks’ lone victory in a time of 8:20.

“I was really pleased with how our First Novice 8 boat dealt with the tough conditions today, and we were pleased to see them pick up the win,” KU coach Rob Catloth said. “We raced pretty hard for our first race of the season.”

KU has home matches scheduled each of the next two weekends.

KU's second varsity rowing squad competes as officials cruise by keeping time.