SARASOTA, Fla. — The No. 11 rowing team secured its second consecutive Big 12 Title in a clean sweep at the conference championship in Sarasota on Sunday morning.
The Knights went five-for-five at Nathan Benderson Park, with all boats claiming first-place in the respective races, securing an automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Georgia.
The morning began with the Third 8+ going down the course coxed by Hana Garey alongside Morgan Northey, Claire Kaminski, Makayla Baxley, Vilma Kangasmaki, Natasjia Voulanas, Izzy Bate, Kendall Bovino and Alina Tasman. The Black and Gold crew was in a tight battle with Kansas for a majority of the 2000 meters, before pulling away a bow ball ahead at the last 250 meters, winning in open-water with a time of 06:41.05, over five seconds ahead of the next nearest crew.
The first boat of five took to the water next, compiled of coxswain Eliza Shaffer with Cate Maloney, Bella Montalvo, Aisling Landers, Tea Zivkovic. The Knights one in a similar fashion, this time a whole 13 seconds of open water to space, with UCF finishing at 07:19.52 ahead of Kansas at 07:32.84.
The final four of the competition were the next crew to go down, with coxswain Vianna Smith, along with Lujza Kovacs, Sofia Palacios, Kesha Bruinette and Amber Tulloch making up the First 4+. The Knights kept their foot on the gas for the entire 2k, finishing with a time of 07:10.09 ahead of Kansas’ 07:24.33 in second and Kansas State’s 07:26.59.
Next down the course was the Second 8+, looking to continue the winning ways. The boat, compiled of Sophia Tursi with Sofia Scott, Maja Misljenovic, Lexi Sanchez, Julia Schultz, Sophia Keller, Olivia Werner, Maci Brede and Madison Lovejoy, did just that, securing yet another first-place finish. The UCF crew finished the line at 06:31.84 with the Jayhawks following after at 06:42.58 and the Monarchs out of Old Dominion in third at 06:44.14.
With the sweep in sight, the First 8+ delivered a dominant performance, crossing the line with a time of 06:16.46. The clinching crew consisted of coxswain Audrey Vilendrer with Sofia Naboni Nevado, Ines Martin, Luna Kuiper, Lucy Buckingham, Coralie Detre, Brigitte Kappler, Amalie Thorsen and Hannah Lovejoy.
Coming out victorious in every race on the day, the Knights accumulated a total of 81 points, the highest amount a team could receive at the championship.
Following racing, the conference announced members of the All-Big 12 team, which included six Knights. The members of the Black and Gold represented on the conference team included Audrey Vilendrer, Ines Martin, Amalie Thorsen, Brigitte Kappler, Sofia Naboni Nevado and Hannah Lovejoy. Additional conference awards will be announced later this week.
Now with an automatic bid, the Knights will focus their attention on the NCAA Championships at Lake Lanier in Georgia beginning on May 29.
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.