SARASOTA, Fla. – The Old Dominion Rowing team competed in the Sunshine invitation this weekend.
ODU had three boats race, one in the varsity 4+ and two in the varsity 8+.
On Friday the varsity 4+ boat made up of Izzy Bravo, Ainsley Diesi, Gillian Battersby, Kelly Bailey and the coxswain being Libby Guidon placed seventh and finished with a time of 8:27.30.
The first varsity 8+ boat made up of Sofia Bespalova, Kinley Zink, Lucy Brennan, Annemarie Hoff, Jay Weber, Maddie Enns, Lily Baumann, Sydnee Blackbrun, and Illianna Romanzo being the coxswain took fifth finishing with a time of 6:52.29.
The second varsity 8+ boat that featured Jenna Protacio, Haven Habhab, Marie Ahern, Mary Rust, Lauren Norris, Bekah Kimman, Afton Spinelli, and Ellie Gortz who was the coxswain took seventh in its race with a time of 7:29.44.
On Saturday the first varsity 8+ boat took fourth finishing with a time of 6:52.23. The second varsity 8+ boat would race after finishing sixth in its regatta with a time of 7:21.94. The varsity 4+ would wrap up the Monarchs Day taking sixth in its event with a time of 23:40.57.
"The ODU women stepped up this weekend and took a lot of what we learned from our prior race and applied it to racing this weekend. We continuously preach the idea of adding to the culture and focusing on the process and the team showed this weekend what happens when you do that," said head coach Brian Conley. "The Varsity 4 and two Varsity eights had solid performances and definitely got better with each trip down the course. They are a young group and are working hard to get faster each week. "
"The varsity 8+ had the best performance of the weekend. They were seeded 14th and were able to outperform our seeding by finishing 12th. Ilianna Romanzo did a great job keeping them focused in the race and executing the race plan. Sofia Bespalova was able to set a strong rhythm from the stern to find themselves in mix both the heats and finals. I think the whole team is excited about what they can do this year and know it's going to take out working our competition the next few weeks."
ODU is back in action next Saturday, Apr. 8 when they compete in the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia.
ODU Rowing Competes In Sunshine Invitation
