No. 14 Rowing Concludes NCAA Championship at a Program High With 15th Place FinishNo. 14 Rowing Concludes NCAA Championship at a Program High With 15th Place Finish

No. 14 Rowing Concludes NCAA Championship at a Program High With 15th Place Finish

by Franki Noble

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - History was made on the waters of New Jersey as the Knights team recorded their best finish in UCF history at No. 15 as well as three individual program-high finishes. 

We set a goal last year to be top 15 in the country and to see that come to fruition was just incredibly gratifying. The rare times in life when you set out to do something and achieve it, there’s nothing better. We are so excited for what we have accomplished and where we are going.

Mara AllenUCF Rowing Head Coach

Early morning racing began as the First 4+ took to the water to compete in the first C final of the day. Their competition included No.16 Indiana, No. 17 Pennsylvania, No. 10 Virginia, No. 19 Oregon State and Boston. A few seats behind No. 16 Indiana, the First 4+ made a strong push towards the end of the 2000 meters that propelled them to first place as they secured the first-ever C Final win in program history with a time of 07:14.147. The crew composed of junior coxswain Sophia Tursi as well as junior Cate Maloney, freshman Sofia Palacios, freshman Kesha Bruinette and sophomore Amber Tulloch continued to make history as they set a program-high best finish for all races in UCF’s appearances at the NCAA Championship.

The First 4+ finished the weekend in 13th place, the highest a UCF boat has ever placed at the NCAA Championship. “The First 4+’s race was incredibly mature,” head coach Mara Allen said about the crew. “To come through such remarkable programs, I know these athletes won't forget this race.” The crew became the first of the Black and Gold to win a C Final.

The next race of the morning began just over 15 minutes after the last as the Second 8+ competed against No. 7 Rutgers, No. 15 Dartmouth, No. 16 Indiana, No. 17 Pennsylvania and Northeastern. The crew slotted in second place, just two seconds behind No. 7 Rutgers, with a time of 06:36.666.

The crew's time secured a 14th place finish, the highest for the Second 8+ in UCF history following their 18th position at the 2017 championship. The history-making crew includes senior coxswain Julia Going along with freshman Sofia Scott, junior Natasjia Voulanas, sophomore Ines Martin, sophomore Maja Misljenovic, junior Veronica Rush, senior Bella Montalvo, senior Claire Kaminski and junior Amalie Thorsen.

With the goal of breaking the school record of an 18th-place cumulative finish, the First 8+ knew what was at stake. The crew pushed harder in each stroke pushing through the competition.

At the line, the boat crossed in third with a time of 06:23.115 following No. 11 Syracuse by three seconds and No. 13 Harvard by just one second. The time of the finish secured a 15th place finish for the Knights as a whole and as a crew. The boat consisted of junior coxswain Audrey Vilendrer with freshman Sofia Naboni Nevado, fifth-year Madlen Markova, sophomore Brigitte Kappler, sophomore Reese Springer, freshman Lucy Buckingham, fifth-year Elisa Faiola, freshman Luna Kuiper and junior Hannah Lovejoy.

The Knights complete their historic season as Big 12 Champions as well as breaking several school records at the NCAA Championship including the highest cumulative finish at 15 and the highest individual boat placement at 13. They close off the NCAA Championship weekend at 52 points.