Knights win fourth straight AAC title

The UCF rowing team earned its fourth consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship Saturday at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J.

“It’s awesome,” UCF coach Becky Cramer said of the title. “With the conference getting so much faster, [the championship] was tight and it was hard-fought. [The team] was ready to go. Every stroke and every practice went into today; they were ready for it.”

UCF is the second women’s program to claim four consecutive conference titles in any sport, joining the UConn women’s basketball team.

Midway through this year’s rowing championship, UCF held a five-point edge in the standings after a trio of second-place finishes.

The third varsity four opened the day with a second-place finish. Alexis Greer, Anna Edkins, Jessica Scales, Tatum Cox and Nicole Snyder crossed the line in 8:48.11 to earn the first medals of the day.

UCF’s second varsity four continued the medal performance with a secondplace finish. Jillian Jernas coxed Danielle Wilson, Darby Brooks, Magdalena Pasternak and Jacinta Kendall across the finish line in 8:35.37.

Taylor Jenko, Caitlin Thompson, Jordan Jahosky, Eileen Acken, Caitlin Ross, Demi Dorsey, Maria Yim, Julia Quintiliani and Jennifer Barnes collected a secondplace finish in the third varsity-eight race.

Varsity four pushed the Knights to second in the standings. The boat, consisting of Elena Esteban, Aly Derksen, Abbie Pritchard, Jessica Matteson and Paula Parks rowed across the finish line in 8:26.74.

Holding a nine-point advantage, UCF’s second varsity eight lined up on the water. For the fourth consecutive season, it delivered.

Catherine Harms, Alyssa Ramos, Ieva Medelinskaite, Rusne Dziugyte, Sydney Hays, Leslie Lajoie, Shannon Perry, Michaela Gundrum and Rachel Rabinowitz pulled away down the stretch, crossing the line in 7:48.2, nearly three seconds ahead of second-place Sacramento State.

With a 25-point edge heading into the final race of the day, UCF could finish as low as third and still clinch the championship.

The three-time champion varsity-eight boat, however, finished first.

Nicole Mayer, Lara Maule, Julie Poulsen, Viktorija Senkute, Marija Medelinskaite, Grace Lindberg, Mia Cleary, Edvina Nesukaityte and Luci Derrick cruised to a 6:59.60 time to win the fourth consecutive varsityeight title.

UCF finished with 209 points, clinching the AAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA championships, which will be held in Sarasota May 25-27.