ORLANDO – With the regular season now in the rearview, the No. 11 rowing team is set to travel to Nathan Benderson Park to compete for a chance at back-to-back Big 12 titles in Sarasota on Sunday.
The Knights travel to the west coast of the Sunshine State for racing beginning at 9:00 a.m. on May 17, looking to secure the conference championship for the second consecutive year, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships on the line.
The Black and Gold enter the competition on the heels of a trip to the Garden State for a one-day race against No. 7 and No. 20 Penn that saw the UCF crews claim three second place finishes and one first-place finish. The victorious result came from the First 4+ that battled back from an initial slow start to top the No. 7 Tigers in open-water with a five second advantage.
Following the successful trip to New Jersey, the Knights were once again tabbed the eleventh squad in the nation, marking five weeks at the No. 11 spot and nine consecutive weeks within the top-15.
The reigning champion, UCF enters Sunday’s event as the sole ranked competitor and the only program to compete at last season’s NCAA Championship.
In addition to the national attention, the Knights are one of only two crews from the conference to garner Big 12 Boat of the Week honors. UCF has claimed an impressive four out of six weeks, with the only other crew to get the conference recognition coming out of Kansas.
Sunday’s racing will begin with the Third 8+ at 9:00 am with the remaining races following every 15 minutes in the order of the Second 4+, First 4+, Second 8+ and finishing with the First 8+.
The awards ceremony in which a champion will be crowned will begin at 11:00 a.m. on the mainstage.
Live results can be found here while a livestream of the event can be found on ESPN+.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.
