CLEMSON, S.C. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF rowing team raced twice on Saturday to close out the Clemson Invitational on Lake Hartwell.
The Varsity Eight opened the day in the first heat that featured No. 4 Ohio State, No. 15 Washington State, and Duke and UCLA crews that are receiving votes in the CRCA poll. The boat, consisting of Nicole Mayer, Edvina Nesukaityte, Mia Cleary, Julie Poulsen, Marija Medelinskaite, Grace Lindberg, Ieva Medelinskaite, Viktorija Senkute and Luci Derrick, finished seventh with a time of 6:49.23.
The Second Varsity Eight's heat featured the same squads as the Varsity Eight. The boat, consisting of Catherine Harms, Alyssa Ramos, Rachel Rabinowitz, Lara Maule, Sydney Hays, Rusne Dziugyte, Shannon Perry, Leslie Lajoie and Michaela Gundrum, crossed the line in 7:01.69.
The Varsity Four, consisting of Jillian Jernas, Abbie Pritchard, Aly Derksen, Magdalena Pasternak and Paula Parks, came across the line more than three seconds ahead of Northeastern at 7:40.23 to finish sixth in its heat.
The Second Varsity Four, consisting of Elena Esteban, Danielle Wilson, Darby Brooks, Jessica Matteson and Maria Yim, crossed the line nearly two seconds ahead of Navy in its heat. The boat nearly matched the UCF V4 time, taking sixth with a time of 7:40.74.
The Third Varsity Eight, consisting of Ciera Jarrett, Anna Edkins, Jordan Jahosky, Caitlin Thompson, Caitlin Ross, Eileen Acken, Nicole Snyder, Jacinta Kendall and Tatum Cox, finished seventh in its heat with a time of 7:14.75.
The Knights switched up their lineups for the final race of the day, turning in some of their fastest times of the weekend.
The Third Varsity Eight finished fifth in the B Final. The squad, which consisted of consisting of Alexis Greer, Anna Edkins, Jordan Jahosky, Caitlin Thompson, Caitlin Ross, Eileen Acken, Nicole Snyder, Jacinta Kendall and Tatum Cox, was just edged by Tennessee, but its time of 7:02.59 put the Knights across the line one second ahead of Clemson.
UCF's Second Varsity Four, consisting of Elena Esteban, Danielle Wilson, Aly Derksen, Magdalena Pasternak and Maria Yim, finished third in the B Final. The Knights crossed the finish in 7:32.58, more than 10 seconds ahead of fourth place Northeastern.
In the Varsity Four race, UCF collected its second third place finish of the day. The boat, consisting of Jillian Jernas, Rusne Dziugyte, Darby Brooks, Jessica Matteson and Paula Parks, finished with its fastest time of the weekend, 7:24.70, to edge Navy in the C Final.
UCF's Second Varsity Eight took fourth in the C Final. The squad, consisting of Catherine Harms, Abbie Pritchard, Rachel Rabinowitz, Alyssa Ramos, Sydney Hays, Leslie Lajoie, Shannon Perry, Lara Maule and Michaela Gundrum, posted its fastest time of the weekend, crossing the finish line in 6:36.94.
The Varsity Eight closed out the weekend in the C Final. The squad, consisting of Nicole Mayer, Viktorija Senkute, Marija Medelinskaite, Julie Poulsen, Ieva Medelinskaite, Grace Lindberg, Mia Cleary, Edvina Nesukaityte and Luci Derrick, crossed the line with its fastest time of the weekend, 6:31.37, to finish fifth.
UCF heads to the Longhorn Invite on April 28 for one final race before the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championship in Cherry Hill, N.J.