Florida Tech Finishes Day One of National Championship Regatta In First Place, Second Place
By Space Coast Daily // May 31, 2019
eight-hour weather delay halts competition to begin the day
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – It was an interesting first day of the National Championship regatta as an eight-hour delay to the start time was caused by a Thursday night storm which blew debris onto the course. But that did not dampen the competitor’s spirits as the intensity throughout the day was palpable.
Florida Tech’s boats put together two solid races as the varsity four (V4) took first place while the varsity eight (V8) got second.
The Panthers’ V8 was the first of the two boats to take the water as the women raced in the Division II – Eights Heat 2. The crew of Graysen Pensch (bow), Liza Lutter, Irina Djurovic, Anna Kayser Gallego, Theresa Gadilhe, Svetlana Ristin, Federica Pala, Natalia Arasa Bonavila (stroke) and Taylor Stoni (coxswain) led for a majority of the race but a late surge by Western Washington (6:38.454) edged them out as Tech finished in 6:40.461.
Up next was the V4 of Emily Hall (bow), Allyson McCarron, Julia Seibold, Shaula Rey (stroke) and Nashaita Patrawalla (coxswain). The Panthers dominated their heat from start to finish as they were the frontrunners the entire 2000 meters. The women jumped out to about a seven-second lead through the first 500 meters which allowed them to coast to the finish and a two-second victory (7:39.629) over second place Seattle Pacific (7:41.920).
Tech’s V8 will be back in action Saturday, June 1, at 10:36 a.m. ET for the Division II – Eights Repechage; while the V4 gets the day off as it got the heats automatic bid to the grand final Sunday, June 2.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech women’s rowing team, visit FloridaTechSports.com.
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