WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - UCF rowing continues to make history as all three boats recorded a first-place finish to advance all crews to the C Finals for the first time in program history on Saturday evening.
Following a lengthy weather delay, the Black and Gold finally took to the water in the evening as the First 8+ competed against No. 13 Harvard as well as three fellow conference champions in No. 19 Oregon State, Boston University and Rhode Island. The boat, which included 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, recorded their third-straight season-best time finishing at 06:18.899. The crew crossed the finish first to punch their ticket to the C Final. The next nearest boat was the reigning West Coast Conference champions, Oregon State finishing two seconds later. The First 8+ held a steady pace throughout the entire race not letting up the lead once.
In a similar fashion, the Second 8+ recorded the second first-place of the day as well as their fastest time of the season at 06:30.536. The crew composed of senior coxswain Julia Going alongside 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 competed against ranked opponents in No. 16 Indiana and No. 17 Pennsylvania as well as Fairfield and Boston University. The crew recorded a stellar time as Pennsylvania slotted in two seconds later and Indiana four seconds later.
To complete the sweep of the C/D Semifinals, the First 4+ wrapped up the day, crossing the finish ahead of No. 19 Oregon State, No. 16 Indiana, Northeastern and Fairfield in that order. The boat of junior coxswain Sophia Tursi as well as junior Cate Maloney, freshman Sofia Palacios, freshman Kesha Bruinette and sophomore Amber Tulloch secured the final first-place finish for the Knights with a time of 07:11.955 marking another season-best for UCF.
The historic day on the water was highlighted by the defeat of several teams that received an at-large bid to this year’s championship. This marks the first time in the team’s history that this feat has been accomplished. The Knights have the opportunity to continue to break records as they have already guaranteed a minimum finish of 18th place, the current highest finish as a team in program history.
TOMORROW'S SCHEDULE
The Black and Gold return to action for the First 4+ C Final at 7:20 a.m. The First 4+ will compete in lane three as they face No. 16 Indiana, No. 17 Pennsylvania, No. 10 Virginia, No. 19 Oregon State and Boston.
The next to take to the water will be the Second 8+ as they compete against No. 7 Rutgers, No. 15 Dartmouth, No. 16 Indiana, No. 17 Pennsylvania and Northeastern. The Second 8+ C Final is slated to begin at 7:36 a.m. as UCF races in lane three.
For the last C Final of the day, the First 8+ will begin their race at 7:52 a.m. Their competition includes No. 11 Syracuse, No. 13 Harvard, No. 15 Dartmouth, No. 17 Pennsylvania and No. 19 Oregon State. UCF will be racing in lane three to close out the morning.
All races will be streamed on NCAA.com and live stats can be found here.