March 19, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF women's rowing team competed in the Governor's Cup Regatta on Canal 54 Saturday morning and concluded the day with two gold medal performances and three second place finishes against No. 20 Columbia and swept No. 23 Syracuse in all events.
The Golden Knights competed in their second race of the season against Columbia and Syracuse, both ranked in the Top-25 CRCA/US Rowing Poll that was released on March 13. UCF defeated Syracuse in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four and novice eight races. Columbia was the fastest crew on the course, winning the varsity eight, second varsity eight and novice eight races. UCF finished second to the Lions in those races, but picked up wins in the varsity four and second novice eight events.
"It was a great way to conclude our spring training camp, racing against Columbia and Syracuse," UCF rowing head coach Leeanne Crain said. "The team worked extremely hard this week, keeping their focus on the South/Central Regional Championship in May. I keep telling them that early season success means nothing if we can't put it together at the season-ending championship. So far, we've posted good results against Michigan, Columbia and Syracuse, which is very rewarding, but we must continue to train with intensity so that we can see a gain in speed in the final stretch of the season."
The women's rowing team will compete next weekend at the Petrakis Cup, hosted by Jacksonville University and will travel to Clemson, S.C. on April 1 to take on Clemson and the University of North Carolina.
Results
Varsity Eight:
1. Columbia, 6:41.3
2. UCF, 6:46.2
3. Syracuse, 7:03.9
V8+ Lineup: Katie Chapman (cox), Caitlin Pauls (stroke), Kyla Smith (7 seat), Tanya Kleisler (6 seat), Melissa Westhoff (5 seat), Stephanie Adams (4 seat), Katherine Motes (3 seat), Robin Capers (2 seat), Melissa Kroll (bow)
Second Varsity Eight:
1. Columbia, 6:48.2
2. UCF, 6:51.0
3. Syracuse, 6:58.2
2V8+ Lineup: Kim Swift (cox), Tanis Franchuk (stroke), Mary Rosser (7 seat), Erika Frantz (6 seat), Kristin Roach (5 seat), Samantha Heinrich (4 seat), Tara Rogers (3 seat), Christy Collier (2 seat), Brittney Kusner (bow)
Varsity Four:
1. UCF, 7:39.3
2. Columbia, 7:49.3
3. Syracuse, 7:51.7
V4+ Lineup: Heather Brooks (cox), Jessica Veeneman (stroke), Christina Smith (3 seat), Vilma Ramos (2 seat), Nicole Szwanke (bow)
Novice Eight:
1. Columbia, 7:05.9
2. UCF, 7:23.7
3. Syracuse, 7:26.8
N8+ Lineup: Lecelle Johnson (cox), Erin Bernier (stroke), Ausley Gage (7 seat), Ally Baldwin (6 seat), Danielle Leen (5 seat), Jackie Dent (4 seat), Meghan Graber (3 seat), Kaitlin O'Connell (2 seat), Taylor Wiatt (bow)
Second Novice Eight:
1. UCF, 7:17.4
2. Columbia, 7:19.9
2nd N8+ Lineup: Christen Anderson (cox), Ashlynn O'Connor (stroke), Megan Davies (7 seat), Jill Piontkowski (6 seat), Jennifer Miller (5 seat), Danielle Hopkins (4 seat), Tia Scaltsas (3 seat), Alyson Davis (2 seat), Latraia Daniel (bow)