SARASOTA, Fla. – The No. 8 Nova Southeastern rowing team had a strong finish at the 2018 FIRA Championships held at Nate Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. this Saturday afternoon, seeing six of the seven boats finish in the Top 3.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
LOCATION: Nathan Benderson Park | Sarasota, Fla.
HOST: UCF
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CONDITIONS:

• Early Morning Races had a light 8 to 12 MPH tail wind that built into a raging 20 mph tailwind from about 12 noon on for the rest of the day. It was sunny and partly cloudy. 

 
RACE FORMAT

• Each race was a 2,000m Grand Final. The course was a straight shot to the finish line.

RESULTS

• The first varsity 8 boat that consisted of Lisette Villarreal, Marnie McLean, Ayelen Vegas, Kassie Moss, Emily Stewart, Rayna Stuart, Ariel McAffrey, Jasmine Morris and coxswain Victoria Porretti placed third with a time of 6:58.33. 
• The second varsity eight boat with Nicole Baliszewski, Stephanie Fleming, Gabriella Lopez, Danica Buse, Barbara Sansur, Jessica Cavalier, Mikayla Switzer and coxswain Katherine Godwin grabbed second place behind UCF at 7:20.97.
• The double of McAffrey and Stewart finished in a solid second place position in 7:51.01 while their teammates McLean and Vegas finished in third with a time of 8:22.14.
• The JV 4 team of Emma Brownawell, Fleming, Buse, Switzer and coxswain Miranda Sadlow collected the only first-place finish for the Sharks with a time of 8:08.10.
• The DII 4 consisting of Baliszewski, Cavalier, Mikayla Shelton, Samantha Loriot and coxswain Maydelissa Pinell followed with a third-place finish crossing the line at 8:03.80.
• The Varsity 4 ended the competition with a sixth-place finish. The team of Villarreal, Moss, Stuart, Morris and coxswain Porretti finished with a time of 8:06.72.

BEYOND THE RESULTS WITH COACH FAY
"The race day was a mixed bag, I felt pretty good about the way we were rowing and most boats came off the water feeling good about their performances. The team was excited about the race day and their opportunity to test ourselves against SSC competition for the first time this season. For this reason, we were a little unhappy that we came up short on the speed we need to be generating if we want to have a shot at doing well in the conference championship. However, we know that we need to tweak some base rhythm rowing, emphasizing on accelerating the handle to the body and letting the boat run out under us more. All in all, we are pleased with our progress, and if we can continue to work hard and push each other to find ways to improve in the next few weeks, we will continue to gain significant speed as we head into championship season."
 
UP NEXT
The Sharks will race at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta, April 21-22 at Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. 

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