Jacksonville Women’s Rowing Sweeps MAAC Championships For Third Year Running

The Jacksonville Dolphins claimed their third consecutive women's rowing Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship victory with its third straight sweep of the conference races on Sunday afternoon.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Jacksonville Dolphins claimed their third consecutive women’s rowing Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship victory with its third straight sweep of the conference races on Sunday afternoon.

Plenty of on-boat hugs and celebratory splashes of the Cooper River commenced as the Dolphins steamrolled the MAAC Championships for the third time in as many years.

“It was a great day today!” Said head coach Mike Lane. “This championship is a true testament to our senior class.  They have been tremendous and to go out on top you could not script it better.  The are leaving a lasting legacy, however one that’s isn’t over yet.  We are planning to make some noise at NCAAs this year!   I can’t wait to see what we will accomplish.”

The second varsity four was the first race of the afternoon, setting the tone for the MAAC Championships. Jacksonville, with Jenefer Clark as coxswain and Samantha Keough, Kenni Smith, Lura Johnson, and Isabel Mehrtens in seats 4-1, respectively, jumped ahead immediately and paced the first event. The Dolphins maintained their lead and took home the gold to open the MAAC Championships. Their time of 8:26.419 was nearly 5.5 seconds ahead of second-place Marist and nearly 10 seconds ahead of third-place Sacred Heart.

Jacksonville’s varsity four saw similar success to its 2v4, this time in a field with nearly double the number of schools in the second race of the day. In the first 800 meters or so, it looked like the Dolphins would pull away from the crowd, but Sacred Heart’s 1v4 began to close the gap between first and second. In the final 500 meters, the Dolphins, coxswained by Mackenzie Thurlow, with Izzy Allison, Lyric Hall, Madison Benavidez, and Kennedy Rowley seated 4-1, sprinted to a victory. Jacksonville took home its second win in as many races, finishing with a time of 8:07.744, 2.5 seconds faster than Sacred Heart in second and nearly 17 seconds ahead of Fairfield in third.

Hailey Grover was the coxswain of the Dolphins’ second varsity eight, with Madison Santabarbara, Isabella Miletich, Emilee Podvia, Cat Geiger-Costa, Mackenzie Turinsky, Katy Kost, Teagan Castleberry, and Chaise Reagan in seats 8-1. At the start, it was a tightly contested race, and after about 1000 meters, Fairfield was ahead by less than a quarter of a boat length. Flash forward 200 meters, and the Dolphins found their stroke, beginning to make headway on Fairfield. JU continued its momentum, gaining speed as the race wore on and putting open water between them and the rest of the field. Hugs and splashes on the water commenced as the Dolphins claimed victory on points with their third win of the day. The 2v8’s time of 7:27.742 was nearly six seconds faster than second-placed Fairfield.

JU’s varsity eight, coxswained by Hannah Gagnon, with Anne Geurts, Gabby Huxtable, Olivia Coffey, Hannah Williams, Ginger Hubbard, Holly Rosser, Greta Geiser, and Nyah Lam in seats 8-1, wrapped up the competition and clinched the sweep. The Dolphins’ varsity eight boats both had similar strategies, hitting their stride around the 1000-meter mark of Cooper River Lake. Sacred Heart had jumped to an early lead at the start, but again, the Dolphins created open water between them and the next closest boat in the field. JU finished with a great time of 7:05.185, nearly 10 seconds ahead of second-place Sacred Heart, to clinch the sweep.

Hannah Gagnon, Gabby Huxtable, Anne Geurts, Ginger Hubbard and Olivia Coffey were named All-MAAC first team, while Hannah Williams landed on the MAAC’s All-Second team. Additionally, Head Coach Mike Lane was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

“Thank you to our coaches and administrators for a tremendous job supporting our young women,” further add Lane.

To view the full results, click here.

UP NEXT
The Dolphins season continues at the end of May for the NCAA Championships. The time-trials portion of the NCAA’s start on May 31, with semi-finals on June 1 and the finals on June 2. The live selection show for the NCAA rowing championship will stream Tuesday, May 21 at 5 pm on NCAA.com.

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