SARASOTA, Fla. - The Knights closed out a strong weekend of racing with a second-place team finish at Nathan Benderson Park for the Sunshine State Invitational.
The II Eight, I Four, and III Eight were the highlights of UCF’s final day of competition, coming in first in the boats’ respective races. The II Four – A and the II Four – B finished second in their races, while the I Eight came in fourth.
The II Eight completed its racing weekend with its second first-place finish. The boat consisting of Julia Going, Connery Cassidy, Tash Voulanas, Seyene Oord, Veronica Rush, Aubrie Russo, Charlotte Wiley, Coralie Detre, and Martina Pischedda finished the race with a time of 6:38.58, ahead of Miami’s time of 6:39.88. Iowa finished third (6:41.0), followed by Michigan State (6:46.57), North Carolina (6:47.41), Kansas (6:50.68), Boston College (6:51.18), and Louisville (6:52.24).
The I Four’s time of 7:13.57 clinched a second win for the Knights' top-three boats with a lineup consisting of coxswain Audrey Vilendrer, Mal Thorsen, Claire Kaminski, Bella Montalvo, and Annberlee Hothem. The Tar Heels came in a close second (7:14.55), followed by the Hurricanes (7:14.92), Wildcats (7:15.38), Hawkeyes (7:17.66), Minutewomen (7:22.91), Dolphins (7:27.97), and Spartans (7:28.17).
UCF’s III Eight gave the Knights a third first-place finish at a time of 6:50.05. The boat, coxed by Elsa Cassellius and consisting of Bailey White, Reese Springer, Alina Tasman, Meagan Lukavec, Cate Maloney, Alexa Konowal, Karin Kudmani, and Emily LaRochelle, was bow ball to bow ball in the last few strokes of the race until the Knights pulled away to edge out Iowa’s time of 6:50.46. K-State (6:54.22) finished third, followed by Michigan State – A (6:55.1), Miami (7:03.46), Kansas (7:06.42), Jacksonville (7:06.42), and Michigan State – B (7:23.07).
The II Fours both finished in third place in their respective heats. II Four – A crossed the finish line in the Grand Final at 7:28.37, behind Iowa (7:17.33) and Michigan State – A (7:25.85). Coxswain Sophie Tursi, Saskia Papsova, Amber Tulloch, Izzy Bate, and Melody Summers finished ahead of Miami (7:28.62), Kansas (7:38.89), and Michigan State – B (7:52.0). The B boat, consisting of coxswain Angelina Hassan, Ashley Tree, Makayla Baxley, Lexi Sanchez, and Chloe Villani, finished behind West Virginia (7:40.73) and Jacksonville (7:45.33), and ahead of Louisville (7:57.85) and K-State (8:03.58).
The I Eight finished its weekend placing fourth in the Grand Final with a lineup of coxswain Mackenzie Harrod, Martyna Wasilewska, Liza Lutter, Tegan Fookes, Brigitte Kappler, Aryann Johnson, Ines Martin, Maja Misljenovic, and Hannah Lovejoy. The crew finished behind Miami (6:33.69), Iowa (6:34.95), Tulsa (6:36.49), and ahead of Boston College (6:42.41), Michigan State (6:44.17), North Carolina (6:45.17), and Drexel (6:46.81).
The Knights will have three weeks off before their next regatta at Nathan Benderson Park, where they will compete at the Big 10 Invitational from April 19-20.
