ORLANDO- The UCF rowing team started the 2025 season strong taking five of its six races against Jacksonville.
The Black and Gold dominated a majority of their races on the day. Every boat that finished ahead of the Dolphins took the race with open water to spare.
“It was a great first step,” head coach Mara Allen said about the regatta. “We have a lot of room to grow, but getting a 2k done at max at our home lake was a great first step.”
The Knights started the day with their Third 4+ consisting of senior coxswain Elsa Cassellius with senior Jasmeen Fajardo-Lopez, sophomore Deanna Jones, sophomore Karin Kudmani and freshman Brinn Marks. The crew followed Jacksonville’s time of 8:06.54 with their own finish of 8:19.10. The boat was the only one of the day to come in after the Dolphins.
The First 8+ were the next to take to the water. The boat featured senior coxswain Julia Going along with junior Natasjia Voulanas, fifth-year Madlen Markova, junior Amalie Thorsen, sophomore Brigitte Kappler, fifth-year Elisa Faiola, freshman Lucy Buckingham, freshman Luna Kuiper and sophomore Ines Martin. The squad finished with a time of 6:37.9 as the Dolphins followed at 7:03.6.
The Second 8+ consisted of junior coxswain Audrey Vilendrer with freshman Sofia Scott, senior Bella Montalvo, senior Claire Kaminski, sophomore Maja Misljenovic, junior Veronica Rush, sophomore Reese Springer, junior Hannah Lovejoy and freshman Sofia Naboni Nevado. The boat posted a time of 6:40.1 ahead of Jacksonville’s 7:26.7.
The First 4+ posted a score of 7:42.1 to the Dolphins’ 8:15.4. The boat included sophomore coxswain Angelina Hassan, sophomore Lexi Sanchez, freshman Morgan Northey, senior Meagan Lukavec and sophomore Izzy Bate.
The Second 4+ continued the trend of being the first boat to cross the finish. The boat was coxed by junior Sophia Tursi along with sophomore Leighann Franklin, junior Alina Tasman, junior Cate Maloney and sophomore Amber Tulloch. They finished with a time of 7:31.6 while Jacksonville finished at 8:16.3.
The final race of the afternoon was completed by the Third 8+. The boat crossed the finish line over 40 seconds ahead of the Dolphins posting a time of 7:07.9 to their 7:49.2. The boat consisted of freshman coxswain Vianna Smith as well as freshman Sofia Palacios, freshman Sidney Norman, sophomore Alexa Konowal, junior Sophia Keller, freshman Jennifer Durnall, freshman Amira Marquez, sophomore Landyn Williams and sophomore Vilma Kangasmaki.
The Knights will be back on the water at Nathan Benderson Park for the Sarasota 2k on March 28 and 29.