Competing for the right to call themselves the top male single sculler in the 2025 Australian University Games, the 23 entrants in the open men’s single at this year’s inter-university national championships are sure to feel the heat in the Queensland competition venue. Three heats, two repechages, and two finals separate us from finding out who reigns supreme over this coveted title, and the competition is sure to be fierce.
James Houghton – Melbourne University
Making the trip up north from the Australian state that can’t seem to grasp winter is over, Houghton will be looking forward to the warm weather and the hot racing that awaits him. A recent awardee of the John Hall Rowing Scholarship that Melbourne University generously offers to their top rowing talent each year, Houghton ensured that the 2025 season he raced matched the prestige of this program. Leaving the 2025 Australian National Championship with a gold in the U23 men’s coxed eight and a bronze in the U23 men’s coxless four, it will be interesting to see how he transitions into the smallest boat of the rowing field.
Brandon Smith – UTS
No stranger to high-stakes competition is Smith, who’ll no doubt be pulling out his extensive international experience as he approaches the start line on race day. A gold medalist in the 2022 World Championships in the U19 Coxed Four, Smith has been focusing on his sweeping career in the past few years. A recent silver medalist in the U23 Men’s Eight at the 2025 National Championships, the transition to small boat racing could be filled with victory for Smith. Under the watchful eye of the phenomenal UTS sculling program, he will undoubtedly be a contender as we approach race day.
Hamish Allan – Adelaide University
One of the few competitors with national sculling experience this year, Allan will look to leverage his past racing to gain an edge over the competition on race day. Competing in the fiercely intense open men’s single scull at the 2025 National Championships, Allan battled his way to seventh in the repechage before donning the South Australia colours in the interstate men’s eight. Taking home a gold medal in the university men’s quad sprint to wrap up his Nationals campaign, there’s no doubt he’ll be gunning for another university medal to add to his collection.
Alexander Tetley – Sydney University
Having won a silver medal in the university men’s quad sprint at the 2025 National Championships this year, Tetley will surely be on a competitive drive to add another medal to his collection come race day. Tough competition saw him fall slightly short in the men’s U21 single scull at Nationals, but relatively strong performances across the board will no doubt have inspired some heavy winter training.
Prediction
With six more competitors bracing the start line compared to this same event in the University Games last year, it’s anyone’s race to win. Based on some strong performances last season, plus an extra boost from his scholarship award, I’d predict Houghton will take the gold solidly this year. I’d be surprised if Allan didn’t make a strong second-place finish, followed by Smith to take home the bronze.
