No. 13 Miami Makes Record-Breaking Debut at NCAA Championships

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The 13^th-ranked Hurricanes rowing team put together a record-breaking showing in its NCAA Championships debut on Friday morning at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park.

All three of Miami’s boats set new school records and both the second varsity eight and the first varsity four advanced to the A/B semifinals, while the first varsity eight earned a spot in the C/D semifinals.

The Hurricanes 1V4 crew of Maria Mastrando, Nicole Wyszynski, Holliday Prichard, Grace Gaskill and Layla Jolley closed Miami’s morning of racing with a thrilling finish in its qualifying heat, posting a time of 7:03.17 to cross the finish line ahead of 12^th-ranked UCF and 17^th-ranked Columbia and earn its A/B semifinals spot.

That time bested Miami’s previous 1V4 record of 7:14.90 set at the Sunshine State Invite in 2024.

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, crossed the finish line ahead of No. 20 Oregon State, Boston University and Jacksonville to earn its spot in the A/B semifinals.

The Hurricanes posted a time of 6:15.24 in that race, besting the previous Miami 2V8 record of 6:26.01 which the same crew set earlier this season at the Lake Wheeler Invitational.

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 made history when it hit the water and became the first Hurricanes crew to ever compete at the NCAA Championships.

The crew made history again when it crossed the finish line with a time of 6:09.93, setting a new Miami 1V8 record and besting the previous mark of 6:17.64 which the same crew set at the ACC Championships earlier this month.

“That was a really exciting way to open our first-ever NCAAs campaign,” Hurricanes head coach James Mulcahy said. “The course was extremely fast today, and all our boats represented Miami in a positive manner going faster than they’ve ever gone before and finding themselves in the thick of each of their races.

“The 2V8+ put together a very solid and methodical piece to qualify for the A/B semifinals, and they can’t wait to get back out there to keep pushing forward. Meanwhile, the 1V4+ rowed an absolutely fantastic race to outperform their seed and make the A/B semis. They’ll come away with a top-12 finish here no matter what, despite being the 16^th seed. The 1V8+ is disappointed to not make it through, but they will regroup and improve for their C/D semis and understand they can still equal their initial seeding if they continue to improve. As always, we’ll get back to the process of recovering and determining areas of improvement for the next round of racing and look forward to our next opportunities on the race course.”

Because inclement weather is forecast for the Gainesville area on Saturday, the NCAA has moved the Division I semifinals to Friday afternoon.

The Hurricanes are set to race again when the 1V8 returns to the water at approximately 4:12 p.m.

Friday Qualifying Results

1V8+ (Heat 4)

1 – No. 5 Princeton, 6:02.85

2. No. 7 Yale, 6:04.15
3. No. 10 Rutgers, 6:07.28
4. No. 13 Miami, 6:09.93
5. Rhode Island, 6:28.09
6. Massachusetts, 6:33.26

2V8+ (Heat 3)

1. No. 6 Virginia, 6:07.11
2. No. 7 Yale, 6:12.13
3. No. 13 Miami, 6:15.24
4. No. 20 Oregon State, 6:21.35
5. Boston University, 6:24.94
6. Jacksonville, 6:43.80

1V4+ (Heat 1)

1. No. 2 Stanford, 6:44.71
2. No. 9 Brown, 6:58.51
3. No. 13 Miami, 7:03.17
4. No. 12 UCF, 7:03.98
5. No. 17 Columbia, 7:19.43