WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 1, 2025) – What a great day for racing on Lake Maitland. The wind was nonexistent and the weather perfect. The TARS Regatta was light in entries for the women but the crews made the most of the day and gained some valuable race experience. There are twelve members of the women's rowing team who took the first strokes of their lives this fall and raced their first sprint race ever today. The women's team brushed with each other to take advantage perfect conditions. The racing was great experience and training for the entire team.
The UCF club women were scheduled to race but not able to attend at the last minute. Fortunately, Tampa had entries in the Varsity 4 and the Novice 4 races so that Rollins was able to compete against someone other than themselves. Tampa proved to be strong in these events beating the TARS by eleven seconds in the Varsity 4 and only six seconds in the Novice 4. Rollins split their varsity eight into two fours for the Varsity 4 event. These two boats (A:
Maria Littman,
Kinsley Sparks,
Abby Klesa,
Olivia Prelog, and
Khloe Smith; B:
Brianne Engel,
Maria Gutierrez,
Sofia Prieto,
Morgan Lane, and
Lillian Groves) have been battling in practice this past week and were excited to see what they could do against Tampa. The three crews all left the line together and the race was on. Tampa was able to gradually open up some space over the TARS and with a few bobbles from the home crews, Rollins was not able to work their way back into Tampa. "Of course we would have loved a win today," said coach Thompson. "But the lessons we learned and the experience to row from behind will pay dividends later in the season."
The Rollins Novice 4 A (
Kailin Liang,
Abigail Zana,
Elizabeth Hanna,
Angelique Harrington, and
Maria Florez) was able to keep Tampa close finishing second by six seconds.
The home race season for the Tars concludes next weekend at the Rollins Invitational on Saturday, March 8th. The teams in attendance are the University of Florida and DII rivals Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The women are excited for this week's training in preparation for the race. Racing begins at 7:50am and there will be pontoon boats so that Tars family, friends and alumni can watch and cheer on the teams from start to finish.
Thanks for keeping up with our season and for your continued support.
