May 16, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF rowing team has been anxiously awaiting its trip to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the Aramark South/Central Sprints and the Knights are already in the Volunteer State preparing for the regatta which is set for Saturday and Sunday. The Black and Gold will have five boats entered, including the varsity 8+ and the No. 2 seed novice 8+.
Action at Melton Lake gets underway with the second varsity 4+ at 10:20 a.m. ET, following by the novice 8+ at 10:40 a.m. The novice squad will be seeded second and have to face six other boats in the first heat. Among its top competition will be Big East champion Notre Dame, No. 6 seed and Big 12 champion Texas and No. 3 seed and Big Ten second-place finisher Michigan State. Wisconsin, the only novice boat to defeat the Knights this year, is the top seed and the reigning Big Ten champs. The Badgers will race in another heat and could meet up with UCF in the grand final.
If the Knights pick up a win in heat No. 1, they will move on to the grand final Sunday, or head to the repechages later on Saturday if they finish worse than first.
"I am very excited to be at this point in the season," said novice coach Andy Derrick. "The athletes have worked hard to put themselves in striking distance of their final goal and I feel good about their chances. We have gained some great race experience this season but still have two or three of our hardest races left to go. It will come down to who wants the win the most and who is on top of their game on the closing days of the season."
Following the novice 8+ race, the first varsity 4+ will battle Eastern Michigan, Minnesota, Clemson and Miami in heat one at 11:10 a.m., while the second varsity 8+ has to tangle with Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Iowa at 11:50 a.m.
Completing the morning session, the varsity 8+ boat has drawn lane two for its heat at 12:40 p.m., and will face off with SMU, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 13 Michigan, Texas and Murray State. Last season, UCF earned sixth place in the grand final en route to capturing its first NCAA Championship berth. As a team, the Knights finished third in the south region (ninth overall), their highest mark in program history.
Saturday's afternoon session will begin at 3 p.m. with repechages and semifinals, and Sunday's championship races start up at 10 a.m.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
UCF Lineups for the Aramark South/Central SprintsVarsity 8+C: Anne Marie Rossi8 Caitlin Pauls7 Krystina Sarff6 Tanis Franchuk5 Tara Rogers4 Lauren Hampson3 Eleni Roussos2 Stephanie Adams1 Erin Riegel
Second Varsity 8+C Erika Venza8 Laura Bacci7 Emma Gresson6 Jordynn Pauls5 Nicole Hoag4 Erin Bernier3 Danielle Leen2 Alyson Davis1 Samantha MIller
Varsity 4+C Brittany Skidmore4 Jessica Veeneman3 Liz Langdon2 Danielle Hopkins1 Ashlynn O'Connor
Open 4+C Lauren Patton4 Margo Beard3 Eileen Huppert2 Sam Fahed1 Christine Rubino
Novice 8+Coxswain Amanda HoffmanKatelyn DawesMonica LarkinLeah VanLearAlly GrayMelea McCrearyAndrea CarrLauryn SteelmanSheilah Abadines ="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="http:>