Tar Heels Earn Five Medals In Successful Sunday At Knecht Cup

Sunday, April 14

Cherry Hill, N.J.

7:00 AM

North Carolina

Knecht Cup

All six Carolina boats raced in Grand Finals at the Knecht Cup on Sunday.

April 14, 2019 | Women's Rowing

Complete Results

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Medals abounded Sunday as the North Carolina rowing team wrapped up a weekend of racing at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J. Racing on the Cooper River, the Carolina second varsity eight and varsity four both won their events as all six Tar Heel boats raced well enough on Saturday to compete in Sunday's Grand Finals.

For complete results, click here.

"Carolina rowing had an outstanding weekend," UNC coach Sarah Haney said. "I'm so proud of everyone making it into the Grand Final.

"I love how competitive we were as an entire team today, but what I love even more is seeing the team support each other, specifically with how ecstatic they were with each boat getting a medal."

In addition to the two golds, UNC also brought home a silver and two bronzes.

It was the first time in program history that Carolina has had all of its boats in Grand Finals at the Knecht Cup and the first time that the UNC varsity eight has ever been in the Grand Final there. It was also the first-ever Knecht Cup gold medal for both the UNC second varsity eight and the varsity four.

Racing in a slight headwind, the freshman/novice four was UNC's first race of the day. The Tar Heels finished in 8:05.69, second behind Boston University.

The second varsity four then took third in its final, in 8:01.02.

The varsity four gave UNC its first win of the day, running away with gold in a time of 7:32.38, more than eight seconds ahead of second-place Temple.

"They all put together really good races," said UNC assistant head coach Anthony Brock of the fours. "The varsity four was a new lineup this week so they didn't have boat chemistry to rely on – they just had to go out and be gritty to get the win. The second four had a pretty bad race on Saturday due to two people being sick but bounced back Sunday to squeak out a top-three finish. And the frosh/novice four had a great weekend for not really having much experience together in a four. The fours group – 'fours friends' – had a great weekend and I couldn't be prouder of how they raced."

The Tar Heels fared just as well as racing moved on to the eights. The UNC third varsity eight took third in its final, crossing in 7:30.25.

The second varsity eight then earned the second Tar Heel gold of the day, finishing in 6:57.48 to beat Temple (7:01.15), Boston College, UMass and Connecticut.

"They did exactly what they needed to do," Haney said. "They were seeded first overall and had a great row in their heat on Saturday to put up the fastest time going into the Grand Final. Today they took care of business. I'm excited to see what they can do moving forward."

The final race of the day was the varsity eight, and UNC placed fifth in a time of 6:49.09.

"I thought they fought incredibly hard all weekend," Haney said. "Each time they went down the race course they worked on executing their race plan better. We just had a hard time falling into our rhythm this weekend. I am very proud of them for fighting through and putting together three tough races."

Next up for UNC is the Lake Wheeler Invitational, which the Tar Heels are teaming with Duke to host in Raleigh on April 26 and 27.

UNC lineups
Sunday, April 14
Varsity Eight
Madeline Lavin (coxswain), Maria Marroquin, Kelly Williams, Bridget Tarnowski, Lauren Ferner, Abby Hudspeth, Paige Colpo, Melanie Hussey, Sally Stanley

Second Varsity Eight
Ashley Lim (coxswain), Sara Zetterberg, Elizabeth Farley, Alex Davis, Alessandra De Vito, Katie Bell, Margaret High, Abby Hudspeth, Caleigh Sewell

Third Varsity Eight
Sophia Perkins (coxswain), Olivia Curran, Sarah Velarde, Kate Pierce, Mackenzie Drake, Caroline Young, Hattie Doherty, Ashton Brown, Amelia Locklear

Varsity Four
Sofia Triana (coxswain), Julianne Peters, Liz Finnessy, Katie McMahon, Elizabeth Mitchell

Second Varsity Four
Lara King (coxswain), Lydia Thompson, Lindsay Miller, Zoe Rose, Hannah Fisher

Frosh/Novice Four
Chloe Todd (coxswain), Charlotte Melgard, Katie Characklis, Maddie Smith, Sydney Tumey