Zubimendi Varela, Stanivuk Earn All-ACC Honors
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After helping Miami post a top five finish at this year’s ACC Championship, two Hurricanes rowers were named All-ACC selections at this weekend’s conference championship regatta.
Senior Naroa Zubimendi Varela earned second-team All-ACC recognition, while fellow senior Jovana Stanivuk received third-team All-ACC honors.
Both rowers compete with Miami’s first varsity eight, which this weekend set a new school record when it posted a time of 6:17.64 during Friday’s qualifying heats on Lake Wheeler in North Carolina.
The first varsity eight crew went on to place fifth in Saturday’s Grand Final with a time of 6:26.65.
“In our sport, being an effective individual athlete means nothing unless you can also be a great crewmate, so it’s fitting that both Naroa and Jovana were honored with All-ACC recognition at their final ACC Championship appearance,” said Miami head coach James Mulcahy. “They’ve both been mainstays of the first varsity eight throughout their four years here at Miami and every year, that boat has gone down the course faster than the year before, regardless of the weather. And every year, they’ve helped lead that crew to more historic results and successes.
“This doesn’t happen without their contributions and shows not only what they’ve been able to do as individuals, but how effectively they’ve been able to work with dozens of other athletes who have shared that crew with them these past four years. That’s reaching the ideal of this sport and our expectations of what it means to be a Miami rower.”
A native of Irun in Spain, Zubimendi Varela was among the rowers on the ACC’s Preseason Watch List and last summer, earned a silver medal while representing Spain at the U-23 World Championships.
Stanivuk, who hails from Curug, Serbia, has competed with the Hurricanes’ first varsity eight crew throughout her Miami career and has won multiple Serbian and Austrian national championships while competing internationally.
Zubimendi Varela and Stanivuk have helped the 14th-ranked Hurricanes put together a historic season, with Miami notching eight top 25 wins and four top 15 wins on the year.
The Hurricanes have also set nine school records this season and have achieved the highest ranking in program history at No. 14 in the CRCA Top 25.
