Women's Rowing 4/16/2023 11:09:00 AM Chris Brannick

Fours Win Knecht Cup Title

UCO Got A First Place Finish From Its Varsity 4+ Boat And A Second Place Finish From Its Varsity 8+ Boat

CAMDEN, N.J. – Central Oklahoma's Varsity 4+ captured a first-place finish in the 2023 Knecht Cup Regatta Grand Final Sunday morning and the Varsity 8+ boat took second by the slimmest of margins as the Bronchos wrapped up a big weekend of racing.

"We thoroughly enjoyed this race weekend at the Knecht Cup in Camden," first-year head rowing coach Jen Gilbert said. "As a team we finished first of the six DII schools that contested the 8+ plus 4+ events and Seattle Pacific finished second. This weekend yet again shows the strength of the west conference schools this season.

"Our boats continue to learn and develop every day," Gilbert continued. "The Varsity 4+ has had a solid block of training together and continues to find speed. They laid down great back-back races and the women in that boat continue to push hard in all areas of their lives - personal development, academic excellence, and athletic endeavors. The Varsity 8+ finished 0.53 behind first place showing that they are competitive in the event but that there is work to do to close the gap."

Central's two boats had the fastest times on the water Saturday during heat racing, and the fours continued that theme in Sunday's final.

UCO's fours hit the water first with their Grand Final Sunday morning. Sydney Large led the boat to a faster time that it raced Saturday in the heats, shaving 9.1 seconds of its 2,000-meter time. With Samantha Hutchings, Danielle Holle, Audra Hempfling, and Peyton Meiler in the boat, UCO took first place in the final with a time of 8:04.80, more than six seconds in front of New Hampshire.

The eights hit the water after that. Led by Emily Overholt in the coxswain seat, the Bronchos were even with defending DII champion Mercyhurst and fellow GNAC school Seattle Pacific for the first part of the race. Mercyhurst pulled almost an entire boat length ahead of the Bronchos just past midway through the 2,000 meters, then the Bronchos surged for an incredible finish.

With Kenna Chamlee, Lauren Clark, Victoria Petschnig, Sinead Quirke, Hope Brooks, Faith Brooks, Keyna Swoosh and Raphaela Sanchez in the boat, the Bronchos almost erased a six-seat separation coming to the finish line. The photo finish went to Mercyhurst though. The Bronchos crossed the finish line in 7:01.16, just 0.53 seconds behind Mercyhurst.

UCO has won three gold medals in the last two appearances on the water. Both V8+ and V4+ boats won first place at the FIRA Championships two weeks ago and now the fours have another title with Sunday's finish.

"Although only 15 of our team raced in New Jersey this weekend - every person in the Boathouse has helped us achieve those results," Gilbert said. "We have a great atmosphere of people who genuinely want to show up to training each day - support their teammates and better themselves. We will evaluate where we can find more speed as a team as qualifying performances are needed by both boats to earn a bid to the National Championships. For now, our focus remains on the GNAC qualification event. We will continue to push to be an invited team at the end of May and give it everything we have."

Central Oklahoma will take a week off before heading to California for the WIRA Championships at the end of the month. UCO also has the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Oregon in May, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships on the line there.

Here are UCO's complete results from this weekend.

UCO 4+
Large (coxswain), Hutchings, Holle, Hempfling, Meiler
Heat Racing, Saturday
1. Central Oklahoma, 8:13.93
2. Seattle Pacific, 8:24.59
3. Thomas Jefferson, 8:37.75
4. D'Youville, 8:42.59
5. Franklin Pierce, 9:06.58
6. Mercyhurst, 9:33.56
Grand Final, Sunday
1. Central Oklahoma, 8:04.80
2. New Hampshire A, 8:11.47
3. Lafayette, 8:16.48
4. Seattle Pacific, 8:21.65
5. D'Youville, 8:24.96
6. Thomas Jefferson, 8:29.23
UCO 8+
Overholt (coxswain), Chamlee, Clark, Petschnig, Quirke, H. Brooks, F. Brooks, Swoosh, Sanchez
Heat Racing, Saturday
1. Central Oklahoma, 7:07.18
2. Seattle Pacific, 7:10.19
3. Mercyhurst, 7:12.76
4. Thomas Jefferson, 7:25.81
5. D'Youville, 8:04.70
6. Franklin Pierce, 8:42.67
Grand Final, Sunday
1. Mercyhurst, 7:00.63
2. Central Oklahoma, 7:01.16
3. Seattle Pacific, 7:08.62
4. Thomas Jefferson, 7:14.16
5. Lafayette, 7:14.18
6. Army, 7:48.73

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Players Mentioned

Faith Brooks: 5' 8"; Junior; Varsity

Hope Brooks: 5' 9"; Junior; Varsity

Kenna Chamlee: 5' 11"; Graduate Student; Varsity

Audra Hempfling: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Danielle Holle: 5' 6"; Junior; Varsity

Keyna Swoosh: 5' 6"; Junior; Varsity

Peyton Meiler: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Emily Overholt: 4' 2"; Junior; Varsity

Sinead Quirke: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Lauren Clark: 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Faith Brooks
: 5' 8"; Junior; Varsity

Hope Brooks
: 5' 9"; Junior; Varsity

Kenna Chamlee
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student; Varsity

Audra Hempfling
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Danielle Holle
: 5' 6"; Junior; Varsity

Keyna Swoosh
: 5' 6"; Junior; Varsity

Peyton Meiler
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Emily Overholt
: 4' 2"; Junior; Varsity

Sinead Quirke
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Lauren Clark
: 5' 7"; Freshman