Miami Varsity 8 Wins at Knecht Cup
MERCER COUNTY, N.J. — The University of Miami varsity eight came away victorious at the Knecht Cup, winning the grand final after sweeping its three races over the weekend.
The Hurricanes’ top boat led a quartet of vessels at the two-day regatta on Mercer Lake in West Windsor Township, N.J., winning the final with a time of 6:43.84. Miami’s varsity eight won semi-final 2 with a time of 6:44.90 to advance to the final with the fastest semi-final time. Miami’s varsity eight also earned a spot in the semi-finals after it won Heat 5 of its preliminaries with a time of 6:50.19.
“Our 1v capped off the day with a barn burner of a race,” Miami head coach Dave Sanderson said. “Leads changed and attacks were thrown at them, but they responded with vigor and crossed the line first. It was an awesome day of racing for our team. We can’t wait to get back to training to find more speed.””
Miami’s 2V8+ was the first boat in the water on Sunday morning, winning Heat 2 of its event with a time of 7:06.30 and advancing to the semi-final. The 2V8+ placed second in semi-final 2 with a time of 6:52.65, and closed out the day with a fifth-place finish in the grand final (7:00.03).
‘Our 2v was in a tight race with the top five boats within 3.5 seconds of each other,” Sanderson said. “It was an incredibly hard fought race and they came up with fifth. Their placement doesn’t represent their effort. I know they are a bit disappointed, but even hungrier to improve.”
The novice eight finished fourth in Heat 2 of its event with a time of 7:42.87 and advanced to the final with one of the four non-automatic qualifier spots based on time. The Hurricanes’ novice eight finished fifth in the final with a time of 7:21.78.
“Our three boats in the grand finals had focused effort through the progression of heats and semis and that positioned them well for the finals,” Sanderson said. “Our frosh/novice eight did a great job racing tough in their first grand final and finished with fifth place.”
The women’s varsity four finished sixth in its semi-final heat with a time of 8:12.79. The Canes’ varsity four finished fifth in Heat 5 with a time of 8:10.49 and advanced to the semi-final based on having one of the five fastest times that did not earn an automatic qualifier spot.
Following this weekend’s action at the Knecht Cup, the Canes will head to Orlando, Fla., to race against UCF in their final regatta before the ACC Rowing Championship. For a complete look at Miami’s schedule, click here.
Miami Lineups
1V8+: Colleen Gillis (cox), Halle Alitz, Alex Gunner, Tessa White-Parsons, Taegan Lynch, Kristen Klein, Jane Moore, Alexa Aguilar, Cristina Salinas
2V8+: Lily Wittle (cox), Virginia Sideleva, Madeline Parente, Alex Novo, Victoria Stewart, Maren Gierlatowicz, Katarzyna Pasternak, Katelyn Cordero, Katie Robinson
1V4+: Nicole Rotkovitz (cox), Alex Ware, Catherine Tayler, Bridget Boland, Elise Wiley
N8+: Karina Cepeda (cox), Tyler Harrison, Laine Stern, Demetra Vlahos, Hannah Doughtery, Tessa Rogari, Kayonne Markes, Marissa Williford, Nichole Tatte
For official updates and information please visit our website at HurricaneSports.com or “Like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/canesrowing. You can also “Follow” Miami rowing on Twitter at http://twitter.com/canesrowing. The program is also on Instagram.
