Rowing Puts All Three Boats In Grand Finals At Sunshine State

Friday, March 29

Sarasota, Fla.

North Carolina

Sunshine State Invitational

UNC's second varsity eight was one of three Tar Heel boats earning spots in the grand finals.

March 29, 2024 | Women's Rowing

Results

SARASOTA, Fla. – In a successful afternoon of racing on Friday, all three UNC boats earned spots in their respective grand finals at the Sunshine State Invitational. Competing at Nathan Benderson Park, the Tar Heel varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four all turned in showings in their heats that earned them spots in Saturday's championship races.

"All three crews found themselves in tough battles all the way down the course today," UNC coach Erin Neppel said. "There are a lot of fast teams here and I thought the composure and execution was good being in the middle of that. Lots to retool and do better tomorrow, but they've put themselves in a position to race in the grand finals, which was the objective today."

All 3⃣ Tar Heel boats through to grand finals at the Sunshine State Invitational! 👏 🔗: https://t.co/usuYxJHYwR#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/Dj4tWhORBc
— Carolina Rowing (@UNCRowing) March 29, 2024

First up was the varsity four, which placed second in its eight-boat heat with the second-fastest time overall among 16 crews. UNC crossed in 7:46.51, behind only UCF's 7:44.40 and ahead a field that included ACC rivals Miami, Louisville and Boston College.

Representing Carolina in the varsity four were Cara Cunningham (coxswain), Lucy Rush, Kenzie Gartland, Sydney Tuck and Anna Lily Laborde.

Next the second varsity eight punched its ticket with a time of 7:02.85, behind UCF and Iowa in its heat and third-fastest overall.

Racing in the second varsity eight were Lauren Walsh (coxswain), Molly Dansby, Gigi Maroney, Camryn Gang, Astrid Gruber, Mimi Brown, Chloe Gaither, Madison Haller and Lydia Houle.

The varsity eight also placed third in its heat, with Iowa in first and UCF second. The Tar Heels finished in 7:16.62, the seventh-fastest time overall and good for a spot in the grand final.

Competing in the varsity eight were Alix de Saint-Aignan (coxswain), Claudia Quintaba, Evie Wells, Molly Warden, Cam Howard, Maddie Johnson, Carmen Sagues, Natalie Timinskas and Lindsey Troftgruben.

The Tar Heels are back in action on Saturday morning with racing starting at 8:30 with the varsity eight grand final.

A live stream of the racing will air on RHStv, which is available on Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung, LG, mobile devices and the web at www.rhstv.com, and also can be viewed through the RHSTV app.

Friday's Results
V4 Heat 1
1. UCF, 7:44.40; 2. UNC 7:46.51; 3. Iowa 7:47.18; 4. UMass 8:01.0; 5. Kansas 8:09.58; 6. Louisville 8:15.37; 7. ODU 8:21.03; 8. Stetson 8:32.80
* UNC advances to grand final as second in heat
2V8 Heat 1
1. UCF 6:55.47; 2. Iowa 7:01.56; 3. UNC 7:02.85; 4. Kansas 7:10.03; 5. Louisville 7:12.10; 6. UMass 7:22.16; 7. Stetson 7:34.45; 8. ODU 7:43.95
* UNC advances to grand final with third-fastest time overall
V8 Heat 1
1. Iowa 7:06.34; 2. UCF 7:07. 83; 3. UNC 7:16.72; 4. Louisville 7:19.56; 5. Kansas 7:25.15; 6. ODU 7:29.62; 7. UMass 7:31.24; 8. Stetson 7:43.97
* UNC advances with seventh-fastest time overall

Saturday's Schedule
8:30 AM: V8 Grand Final
9:10 AM: 2V8 Grand Final
10:30 AM: V4 Grand Final