Friday, March 27
Sarasota, Fla.
West Virginia University
at
Sarasota 2k
Rowing Opens 2026 Season at Sarasota 2K
March 31, 2026 12:59 PM | Rowing
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rowing team opened the 2026 spring season this Friday and Saturday at the Sarasota 2K in Sarasota, Florida.
The event was held at Nathan Benderson Park, featuring a field that included Boston College, Dartmouth, Drexel, High Point, Iowa, Jacksonville, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, North Carolina, SMU, UAlbany and UMass, along with Big 12 Conference members and affiliates Kansas, Kansas State, Old Dominion, Tulsa and UCF.
Conditions for the event saw Friday's heats with a cross wind and Saturday's finals with a head wind for all but the 2V4+.
The 25th year of Mountaineer rowing opened with the 2V4+, which turned in WVU's top qualifying performance, advancing to the petite final after a fourth-place finish in the heats (8:04.23). The crew improved its time in the final, placing sixth in 8:00.97.
The 1V4+ narrowly missed a berth in the petite finals, crossing the finish line just behind Jacksonville (7:55.30) in the heats. West Virginia finished in fifth with a time of 7:56.55 and advanced to the third-level finals, where it placed second to Louisville (8:24.17) with a time of 8:30.74.
In the 2V8+, WVU placed sixth in the heats (7:15.04) before turning in a stronger showing in the finals. The Mountaineers competed in a tightly contested race for the middle of the pack alongside Big 12 teams Old Dominion and Kansas State, finishing fifth in the third-level finals (7:37.15).
The 1V8+ also showed improvement in the finals after a seventh-place finish in the heats (7:06.13). WVU raced closely with ODU and K-State in the final, placing sixth with a time of 7:27.71.
Ten Mountaineers made their spring racing debuts at the Sarasota 2K: Mary Boone, Grace Gonet, Gretchen Ham, Lydia Harris, Melisse Huguet, Lauren Jones, Lauren Keyser, Sara Knezevic, Tessa Naldzin and Mia Samardzija.
CLICK HERE for Sarasota 2K Results.
Sarasota 2K Lineups
Boat Rowers (stroke to bow w/ coxswain)
1V8+ Nikolina Djordjevic, Teegan Wendley, Ksenia Kaludjerovic, Sara Knezevic, Alexis Mitchell, Raquel Iga, Tessa Naldzin and Alanna Dunnigan w/ Grace Terlion
2V8+ Brooke Plummer, Lucille Pratt, Kate Conard, Olivia Martens, Melisse Huguet, Lydia Harris, Mia Samardzija and Lauren Mueller w/ Grace Holliday
1V4+ Lauren Jones, Mary Boone, Addison Dobson and Grace Gonet w/ Grace Fay
2V4+ Una Ilic, Jessica Gaston, Emma Higgins and Gretchen Ham w/ Lauren Keyser
Looking ahead for WVU Rowing, it will return to action at the Gold and Blue Regatta on April 3, in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the Monongahela River at the WVU Boathouse.
The event was held at Nathan Benderson Park, featuring a field that included Boston College, Dartmouth, Drexel, High Point, Iowa, Jacksonville, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, North Carolina, SMU, UAlbany and UMass, along with Big 12 Conference members and affiliates Kansas, Kansas State, Old Dominion, Tulsa and UCF.
Conditions for the event saw Friday's heats with a cross wind and Saturday's finals with a head wind for all but the 2V4+.
The 25th year of Mountaineer rowing opened with the 2V4+, which turned in WVU's top qualifying performance, advancing to the petite final after a fourth-place finish in the heats (8:04.23). The crew improved its time in the final, placing sixth in 8:00.97.
The 1V4+ narrowly missed a berth in the petite finals, crossing the finish line just behind Jacksonville (7:55.30) in the heats. West Virginia finished in fifth with a time of 7:56.55 and advanced to the third-level finals, where it placed second to Louisville (8:24.17) with a time of 8:30.74.
In the 2V8+, WVU placed sixth in the heats (7:15.04) before turning in a stronger showing in the finals. The Mountaineers competed in a tightly contested race for the middle of the pack alongside Big 12 teams Old Dominion and Kansas State, finishing fifth in the third-level finals (7:37.15).
The 1V8+ also showed improvement in the finals after a seventh-place finish in the heats (7:06.13). WVU raced closely with ODU and K-State in the final, placing sixth with a time of 7:27.71.
Ten Mountaineers made their spring racing debuts at the Sarasota 2K: Mary Boone, Grace Gonet, Gretchen Ham, Lydia Harris, Melisse Huguet, Lauren Jones, Lauren Keyser, Sara Knezevic, Tessa Naldzin and Mia Samardzija.
CLICK HERE for Sarasota 2K Results.
Sarasota 2K Lineups
Boat Rowers (stroke to bow w/ coxswain)
1V8+ Nikolina Djordjevic, Teegan Wendley, Ksenia Kaludjerovic, Sara Knezevic, Alexis Mitchell, Raquel Iga, Tessa Naldzin and Alanna Dunnigan w/ Grace Terlion
2V8+ Brooke Plummer, Lucille Pratt, Kate Conard, Olivia Martens, Melisse Huguet, Lydia Harris, Mia Samardzija and Lauren Mueller w/ Grace Holliday
1V4+ Lauren Jones, Mary Boone, Addison Dobson and Grace Gonet w/ Grace Fay
2V4+ Una Ilic, Jessica Gaston, Emma Higgins and Gretchen Ham w/ Lauren Keyser
Looking ahead for WVU Rowing, it will return to action at the Gold and Blue Regatta on April 3, in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the Monongahela River at the WVU Boathouse.
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