OAK RIDGE, Tenn. –  The women's rowing program is once again bringing home some hardware with a first-place finish in the Open Varsity Four and a second-place finish in the Novice Four.

The Varsity 4+, with Senior and Team Captain Sydney Freiberger in the two seat, dominated the field in both the semi-finals on Friday and finals on Saturday.  Though technically a Club program, the Varsity Four was entered in the Open category to race against higher-level competition, including Division I Louisville and Division I Kansas State.  In the Semi-final, the Panthers cruised to an easy win, ten seconds ahead of second-place Kansas State.  Louisville easily won their Semi-Final.  But in the Final, with the top three boats being from Florida Tech, Louisville and Kansas State, the Panthers jumped out to a lead right from the start and held firm throughout the 2,000-meter course. The crew crossed the line in 7:30.1, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Louisville.  Kansas State finished third with a time of 7:43.7.

The Novice Four won their semi-final race with a time of 8:25.1, eleven seconds ahead of second-place Division II University of Tampa.  As with the Varsity race, Louisville easily won its Semi-Final.  But in the Final, Louisville was the stronger crew in a hard fought race finishing with a time of 7:59.2 over the Panthers time of 8:05.1.

The last two years, Florida Tech was only able to enter one boat, the Varsity Four.  However, with the program growing in size, the Panthers fielded the Novice Four this year.  The Novice category means the athletes had not competed in a collegiate rowing competition in the prior academic year.  In fact, the five women in the boat had never rowed prior to Florida Tech.  Their second-place finish at this highly regarded regional competition is a huge testament to their athleticism, tenacity, and excellent coaching. 

The Lady Panthers will next compete at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in Cherry Hill, N.J. on May 9-10.
 
Varsity 4+ 
Coxswain /McKenna Barr
4 /Brynn Romberger
3 /Ashton Clark
2 /Sydney Freiberger
Bow /Sophia Sichtnik

Novice 4+ 
Coxswain /Caroline Morris
4 /Samantha Eisenhofer
3 /Kiera Springer
2 /Julia Pearson
Bow /Maryam Young
 
Full regatta results can be see via Herenow.


For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech women's rowing team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.