No. 14 Miami Places Fifth at ACC Championship

RALEIGH, N.C. – The 14^th-ranked Hurricanes rowing team posted a fifth-place finish at the ACC Championship, which concluded Saturday on Lake Wheeler in North Carolina.

For Miami, which qualified three boats to Saturday’s Grand Finals, it marked a six-spot improvement from last year’s showing at the conference championship regatta.

“Each crew maximized their opportunities today and raced better than they did yesterday,” Miami head coach James Mulcahy said. “The [first varsity eight and second varsity eight] had especially inspired performances. For them, finishing solidly in fifth secured the team’s overall rank in both the ACC and NCAA points standings.”

Miami’s 1V8 crew of Scarlett Pringle, Naroa Zubimendi Varela, Jovana Stanivuk, Samantha Premerl, Mallory Sullivan, Esther Fuerte Chacón, Candela Martínez Pernas, Maria Sole Perugino and Beatrice Ravini Perelli posted a time of 6:26.65 in the Grand Final and crossed the finish line ahead of No. 13 Duke and behind defending national champion Stanford, No. 8 Virginia, No. 6 California, and No. 10 Syracuse.

The 2V8 crew of Anna Langemann, Paula Espinosa Linares, Felipa Rosas Villalobos, Sara Caterisano, Agostina Manzotti Scolari, Kylie Evenson, Jane Elsner, Camila Cofré Lopez and Gabriela Snopková, meanwhile, made it across the line in 6:32.99 to again beat out Duke and finish behind Stanford, Virginia, Syracuse and California.

Also qualifying for Saturday’s Grand Final was Miami’s 3V8, which posted a time of 6:59.56 in its race.

Miami’s showing in the conference championship regatta comes after a historic season for the Hurricanes, who have set a series of program records across their five boats this year and notched eight wins over ranked opponents, including four who were ranked in the top 15.

“We’ve demonstrated massive improvement over the course of the year, with crews avenging earlier losses and getting faster as the season went on,” Mulcahy said. “The ACC is the deepest conference in the country, with six teams ranked in the top 15 heading into Conference Championship Weekend and such a body of work across the regular season suggests the ACC merits at least six bids [for the NCAA Championship]. We remain hopeful that our fifth-place finish today, along with our regular season work, will be viewed favorably by the selection committee and we will celebrate Miami’s first-ever NCAA bid on Tuesday.”

Added Hurricanes senior Naroa Zubimendi Varela, who on Saturday earned second-team All-ACC honors, “I think we’ve shown how much we’ve improved from last year. Going from 11^th [last year] to fifth [this year], that shows how much work we’ve put in all year. Every single race we went to, we showed we were able to compete and be in top positions against top-ranked teams. The numbers show we’ve improved a lot.”

With the regular season and the ACC Championship now behind them, the Hurricanes will return to Coral Gables, where they will learn their postseason fate during Tuesday’s NCAA Selection Show.

ACC Championship Standings

1. Stanford, 132 points
2. Virginia, 118 points
3. California, 108 points
4. Syracuse, 103 points
5. Miami, 77 points
6. North Carolina, 75 points
7. Duke, 69 points
8. SMU, 47 points
9. Notre Dame, 37 points
10. Louisville, 35 points
11. Clemson, 29 points
12. Boston College, 25 points

3V8 Grand Final

1. No. 3 Stanford, 6:31.16
2. No. 6 California, 6:40.01
3. No. 8 Virginia, 6:40.04
4. No. 23 North Carolina, 6:40.50
5. Syracuse, 6:44.96
6. No. 14 Miami, 6:59.56

2V4 Petite Final

1. No. 13 Duke, 7:30.35
2. SMU, 7:38.70
3. No. 14 Miami, 7:39.99
4. Louisville, 7:44.59
5. Clemson, 7:46.36
6. Boston College, 8:01.25

IV4 Petite Final

1. No. 13 Duke, 7:24.79
2. No. 14 Miami, 7:29.54
3. Boston College, 7:31.55
4. SMU, 7:31.85
5. Louisville, 7:33.49
6. Clemson, 7:38.71

2V8 Grand Final

1. No. 3 Stanford, 6:17.09
2. No. 8 Virginia, 6:22.81
3. No. 10 Syracuse, 6:27.26
4. No. 6 California, 6:32.02
5. No. 14 Miami, 6:32.99
6. No. 13 Duke, 6:41.39

1V8 Grand Final

1. No. 3 Stanford, 6:10.23
2. No. 8 Virginia, 6:15.38
3. No. 6 California, 6:19.39
4. No. 10 Syracuse, 6:19.83
5. No. 14 Miami, 6:26.65
6. No. 13 Duke, 6:33.26

Lineups

1V8+

Cox: Scarlett Pringle

8: Naroa Zubimendi Varela

7: Jovana Stanivuk

6: Samantha Premerl

5: Mallory Sullivan

4: Esther Fuerte Chacon

3: Candela Martínez Pernas

2: Maria Sole Perugino

1: Beatrice Ravini Perelli

2V8+

Cox: Anna Langemann

8: Paula Espinosa Linares

7: Felipa Rosas Villalobos

6: Sara Caterisano

5: Agostina Manzotti Scolari

4: Kylie Evenson

3: Jane Elsner

2: Camila Coffré López

1: Gabriella Snopková

1V4+

Cox: Maria Mastrando

4: Nicole Wyszyński

3: Holly Prichard

2: Grace Gaskill

1: Layla Jolley

2V4+

Cox: Gabrielle Walsh

4: Mary Blinn

3: Trinity Ferebee

2: Ella-Rose Duval

1: Jessica Waltzer

3V8+

Cox: Loran Graves

8: Sophia Kovachik

7: Mia Pappano

6: Isabella Raemisch

5: Lauren Bricca

4: Sophia Genelhu-Bazan

3: Charlotte Maschoff

2: Catherine Casey

1: Krista Jackson