OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The No. 17 UCF rowing team displayed a dominant performance on day one of the Rocky Top Invitational with all boats headed to the Grand Finals.
Racing began with the II Four coxed by sophomore Angelina Hassan along with sophomore Leighann Franklin, sophomore Lexi Sanchez, freshman Sofia Palacios and sophomore Vilma Kangasmäki. The boat was first to cross the line with a time of 7:52.212 ahead of No. 14 Duke University (7:57.531) and Clemson University (8:13.699).
The next boat to take the water was the I Four. The crew included junior coxswain Sophia Tursi as well as junior Cate Maloney, senior Meagan Lukavec, freshman Kesha Bruinette and sophomore Amber Tulloch. The boat was the only to finish second on the day, coming in behind No. 14 Duke (7:30.333) with a time of 7:37.844. They finished just over 14 seconds ahead of Clemson (7:51.171).
The Black and Gold competed with the II Eight next. The boat slotted in at first with a time of 6:59.088 ahead of No. 14 Duke’s 7:02.950 and Clemson’s 7:12.822. The II Eight consisted of senior coxswain Julia Going alongside freshman Sofia Scott, junior Natasjia Voulanas, senior Claire Kaminski, sophomore Maja Misljenovic, junior Veronica Rush, sophomore Reese Springer, sophomore Ines Martin and junior Amalie Thorsen.
The final boat to compete was the I Eight coxed by junior Audrey Vilendrer, freshman Sofia Naboni Nevado, fifth year Madlen Markova, senior Bella Montalvo, sophomore Brigitte Kappler, fifth year Elisa Faiola, freshman Lucy Buckingham, freshman Luna Kuiper and junior Hannah Lovejoy. The crew stayed dominant through the entire session finishing just over 13 seconds ahead of No. 14 Duke (6:52.736) and 16 seconds ahead of Clemson (6:55.322) crossing the finish at 6:39.902.
TOMORROW’S RACING SCHEDULE
The Knights will start the day with the I Eight Grand Final taking on No. 5 Tennessee for the first time this weekend as well as No. 15 Duke. The race is slated to begin at 9:00 a.m.
The next Grand Final will be the II Eight at 9:24 a.m. against No. 5 Tennessee and No. 15 Duke once again.
Just under 30 minutes later, the I Four will take on the same opponents at 9:48 a.m.
The last race will be the II Four as they face familiar foe No. 20 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for the first time in Oak Ridge and No. 5 Tennessee at 10:12 a.m.