ORLANDO - The No. 15 UCF rowing’s I Eight has been named the Big 12 Boat of the Week for the second consecutive week after a stellar performance at the Rocky Top Invitational.
The crew included junior coxswain Audrey Vilendrer, alongside 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 senior Hannah Lovejoy.
The I Eight was the final boat to race, completing day one on Melton Hill Lake. The Knights started off their weekend in a heat race, finishing with a dominating time of 6:39.902, 13 seconds ahead of then No. 14 Duke (6:52.736) and 16 seconds ahead of Clemson’s time of 6:55.322.
The boat competed first the next day, starting the morning with the I Eight Grand Final. The crew took second place nine seconds behind then No. 5 Tennessee with a time of 06:29.280 to the Volunteers’ 06:20.714. The Knights continued to put pressure on Duke finishing ahead of the Blue Devils crew by 14 seconds as they finished at 06.43.635.
The I Eight saw improvement over the weekend as they cut their time by ten seconds on day two of the invite.
This week’s conference honor marks the third time the Black and Gold have received the recognition. The I Eight has now been honored twice this season, while the II Eight received the title in April of 2024.
The I Eight will take to the water next for the Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas on April 25 and 26.