29619562961956

UCF Rowing Completes First Day of Lake Natoma Invitational

April 18, 2009

Complete Results in PDF Format

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF rowing team wrapped up the opening day of the Lake Natoma Invitational in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Saturday with the Knights' varsity four boat earning a victory over both Stanford and UCLA in the afternoon session.

The varsity four crew of coxswain Victoria Ortiz, Jessica Veeneman, Amanda Schimian, Tanis Franchuk and Emma Gresson finished the race in a time of 7:37.06, a quarter of a second ahead of the Cardinal (7:37.31) and almost four seconds ahead of the Bruins (7:40.93) to tally three points for the Black and Gold.

UCF finished the day with 19 total points, tying UCLA for sixth place after six races. The Knights earned eight points in the morning session in races against host California and Tennessee, while picking up 11 points in the afternoon session.

The Golden Bears and Wisconsin tied for the most points of the day with 36, followed by Stanford (34), Minnesota (25) and Tennessee (21).

The Knights had a strong outing in the opening half of the day, picking up a win in the novice eight event versus Texas, while also earning a pair of second-place finishes in races against California and Tennessee.

The novice eight crew continued its dominance in the water during the regatta, defeating the Longhorns convincingly, finishing the race in 6:55.4, while Texas crossed in 7:15.7.

The varsity four competed in the first race of the day, crossing the finish line in a time of 7:35.9 to defeat the Lady Volunteers, who finished with a time of 8:02.3, but just behind the Golden Bears who won the race with a time of 7:18.3.

The second varsity eight also defeated Tennessee to earn second-place honors in the morning session and four points for the Knights, clocking in at 6:52.79. Cal got the win in 6:39.56.

In the varsity eight event, the Black and Gold challenged four of the top-ranked squads in the nation throughout the day, facing the third-ranked Golden Bears and the Lady Vols in the morning, clocking in at 6:51.45, just behind both squads, before facing No. 2 Stanford and No. 19 UCLA in the nightcap. The Knights would finish in third place in the race to the finish with a time of 6:57.79. The Cardinal was first to the line, clocking in at 6:33.43.

The second varsity eight earned four more points for the Black and Gold in the afternoon, defeating UCLA in a time of 6:55.08, to finish the race in second place.

Racing continues on Sunday with the finals of the Lake Natoma Invitational starting at 8 a.m. UCF will compete against both Sacramento State and Texas on the final day of competition. The varsity four squad will get things started at 8 a.m., followed by the second varsity eight at 8:30 a.m. and the varsity eight race at 9 a.m. The Knights' novice eight team will close out the event at 9:40 a.m. against Sacramento State and Cal.

Fans can follow up to the minute, unofficial results from the regatta on JamcoTimes.com as well as on twitter.com/CalWCrew. A live Webcast may also be available.

For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.

-UCF-