July 23, 2010
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF rowing team is being represented at the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships this week in Belarus as Liz Robinson (Seattle, Wash.) is already having a successful trip. The junior helped guide the lightweight women's quadruple sculls into the finals which are set for Saturday.
The lightweight 4x finals will pit the United States against Australia, France, Italy, Germany and Japan.
Robinson joined teammates Kimberly Hopewell (Ridgefield, Conn.), Summers Nelson (Kansas City, Mo.) and Devery Karz (Park City, Utah) in the repechage where they took second to earn a spot in the final. The crew sat in fourth through the 1,000-meter mark before making a move into second with 500 meters to go. The U.S., which recorded the fastest second-half split, continued to push the leaders from France during the final quarter of the race, missing first by just 0.23 seconds. France won with a time of 6:45.49, while the U.S. clocked a 6:45.72.
The quartet qualified for the world championships after taking first place at the U.S. Under 23 Rowing Trials in June.
The World Rowing Under 23 Championships showcase up-and-coming athletes who are too old to compete at the junior level but are still in need of further development to rank among top senior elite rowers. Held for the first time in 1976 in Macon, France, under the title "Seniors Match," it eventually became the "Nations Cup" in 1992. FISA's 2005 Extraordinary Congress in Dubrovnik, Croatia, voted to upgrade the World Rowing Under 23 Regatta to world rowing championship status. The first official World Rowing Under 23 Championships were raced in 2004. Approximately 600 athletes from 40 countries compete annually.
During UCF's 2010 campaign, Robinson helped lead the varsity eight team to second-place honors at the inaugural Conference USA Rowing Championships. The varsity eight squad also claimed a fourth-place South Region finish at the South/Central Regional Championship held in conjunction with the C-USA event, and 11th place overall honors at the regatta.