Louisville Concludes Sarasota 2K

Saturday, March 29

Sarasota, FL

All Day

University of Louisville

Sarasota 2K

Photo by: Egan Berne | Louisville Rowing

March 29, 2025 | Rowing

By: Lori Harmon

SARASOTA, Fla. – The University of Louisville rowing team wrapped up its second weekend of competition with the conclusion of the Sarasota 2K Saturday at Nathan Benderson Park.

The day was highlighted by a pair of third-place finishes in the varsity eight and second varsity four petite finals.

"This is the strongest group of teams I recall seeing at this race (formerly Sunshine Invitational)," said UofL head coach Derek Copeland. "We performed significantly better than we have in the last few years. We were very excited to see our fours getting in the mix this year and we expect those boats to get even faster as we start to practice on our river."

The 2V4 crew got the day started as coxswain Madelyn Pleune guided Stella Mancini, Bradlie Hicks, Ali Matthews and Neala Marshall to a time of 7:51.27, placing third behind Boston College (7:49.95) and Alabama (7:42.51).

The V4 boat followed with a fourth-place showing of 7:42.99, nearly four seconds ahead of UMass (7:46.37) and almost five seconds ahead of Boston College (7:47.52).

In a tight 2V8 petite final, the Cardinals finished fourth, clocking in at 6:54.54, close behind third-place Iowa (6:54.27), second-place Tulsa (6:53.35) and the leader, Kansas (6:53.08).

The V8 crew finished the day with Olivia Guarnaccia coxing Isabella Ulloa, Macy Whisenand, Claire Carver-Ritter, Kaylie Leonard, Grace Rodebaugh, Donata Elez, Mary Noschang and Emma Bell to a time of 6:39:43, good for a third-place finish behind Tulsa (6:37.61) and Alabama (6:36.14).

"A pretty significant cross wind caused a little chaos for all the crews at the start and the coxswains did a great job loading the boats into the starting blocks in those conditions," said Copeland. "Overall, we got much better in those conditions, closed a couple of the margins on teams we've raced recently, and were consistent through the weekend. The team's racing identity is starting to come through and it is really fun to watch. Now a few weeks of training, and lots of school work, await us in Louisville."

The Cardinals will return to action April 18-19 when they travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn., Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Regatta.

"I'm really proud of all the crews across the board this weekend," said team captain junior Cierra Chavez. "There were some tough conditions with wind and we fought through it in each race. All of our boats continue to find speed as we get further into spring season, and we hope to prove ourselves even more as we look towards SIRA."

Louisville Rowing Results – Sarasota 2K Day 2
March 29, 2025
Sarasota, Fla. – Nathan Benderson Park
Complete Results

Second Varsity Four – Petite Final
1 – Alabama A (7:42.51); 2 – Boston College (7:49.95); 3 – Louisville (7:51.27); 4 – Michigan State (7:52.46); Kansas State (7:56.58); Old Dominion (8:13.02)
Varsity Four Petite Final
1 – Alabama (7:25.97); 2- Michigan State (7:32.60); 3 - Jacksonville (7:40.59); 4 – Louisville (7:42.99); 5 - UMass (7:46.37); 6 – Boston College (7:47.52)
Second Varsity Eight Petite Final
1 – Kansas (6:53.08); 2 – Tulsa (6:53.35); 3 – Iowa (6:54.27); Louisville (6:54.54); 5 – Boston College (6:58.60); 6 – UMass (7:12.10)
Varsity 8 Petite Final
1 – Alabama (6:36.14); 2 – Tulsa (6:37.61); 3 - Louisville (6:39.43); 4 - Boston College (6:43.61); 5 - Kansas (6:45.09); 6 - UMass (6:49.82

Louisville Lineups
Varsity 8
Coxswain: Olivia Guarnaccia
8 - Isabella Ulloa
7 – Macy Whisenand
6 – Claire Carver-Ritter
5 - Kaylie Leonard
4 - Grace Rodebaugh
3 – Donata Elez
2 - Mary Noschang
1 – Emma Bell

Second Varsity 8
Coxswain: Mackenna Billington
8 - Lexi Bernard
7 – Cierra Chavez
6 – Taylor Fausey
5 – Clara Jane Van Dyk
4 – Lauren Stedry
3 – Madeline Giron
2 – Haley Kunz
1 - Ellie Fazio

Varsity 4
4 – Angels Ventura Rodriguez
3 - Gabriella Allen
2 – Graycen West
1 - Emilie Moreira
Coxswain: Leah Watters

Second Varsity 4
4 – Stella Mancini
3 – Bradlie Hicks
2 – Ali Matthews
1 – Neala Marshall
Coxswain: Madelyn Pleune