No. 25 Rowing Sweeps Sarasota 2K to Win Benderson CupNo. 25 Rowing Sweeps Sarasota 2K to Win Benderson Cup

No. 25 Rowing Sweeps Sarasota 2K to Win Benderson Cup

by Ken Landis
Opens in a new window Results (PDF)

SARASOTA, Fla. – The No. 25 UCF rowing team will be bringing some hardware back to Orlando from the Sarasota 2K after posting a flawless five-for-five of first place finishes in Grand Finals on Saturday. The Knights swept the weekend after winning each heat the day prior as well as every race in the event’s conclusion to win the Benderson Cup.

"They definitely came in with a plan of what we wanted to accomplish and didn’t know if it was possible. I really love the team for how big they’re dreaming right now and what they’re putting in the work for. I think this was a really good result, obviously the best result we could’ve had for the day, so they’re very happy. But it will be back to work on Monday.”

Mara AllenUCF Rowing Head Coach

UCF found plenty of open water in the first two races of the morning, as the Second 4+ finished with an 8.21 second advantage over the next closest boat, registering a 7:27.27 first-place finish. More of the same was found for the Third 8+, posting a time of 6:52.58 with almost an identical margin over the second-place boat of 8.22 ticks.

The Knights picked up right where the previous two boats left off, as the First 4+ crossed the line with a time of 7:18.29, leading the pack by 3.5 seconds over No. 19 North Carolina. UCF pulled out to a quick lead and led by nearly a length for the entirety of the race before fending off a late Tar Heel surge.

Half an hour later, the Knights struck again as the Second 8+ finished first, posting a 6:34.61 time with nearly an eight-second margin over the next closest crew. The Black and Gold topped boats from No. 18 Alabama and No. 19 North Carolina in the process.

UCF’s day wrapped up with the fifth first place finish of the morning as the First 8+ crossed with a time of 6:27.05, edging out Dartmouth by 2.92 seconds while also topping No. 19 UNC, Michigan State, Iowa and Miami.

Full point totals to come…

UP NEXT
The Knights will make their way to Oak Ridge, Tenn. to take part in the Rocky Top Invitational

IMG_8770