JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a clean sweep for the Jacksonville University women's rowing team on Saturday morning. On a day the program honored its seniors, the team and competed against and outpaced Embry-Riddle and Grand Valley State on the St. Johns River outside the Negaard Rowing Center.

"What an awesome day celebrating our seniors," head women's rowing coach Mike Lane said. "They have been an amazingly successful class and I can't thank them enough for the foundation they have left for future classes! They will be hard to replace. However, for now I am going to continue to enjoy the ride with them!"

The Dolphins honored the careers of Samantha Amadio, Maddie Black, Meg Coyle, Katharina Dinsmore, Yailene Herrera, Nicole Martin, Rochelle Martinez and Emma Napper following the racing but not before proving their five-time defending MAAC Champion status on the water.

Jacksonville swept all four races, beginning with the Varsity 8 where the team rolled to a 7:20.4 finish, a full five seconds ahead of second place and it only got more impressive from there. The 2nd Varsity 8 bested its competition by eight seconds with an 8:05.4 finish and the Varsity Four won by 33 seconds, finishing in 9:10.3. Lastly, the 2nd Varsity 4+ completed the sweep with an exciting victory in 10:42.9, just a second a half ahead of the field.

"Racing was challenging today," Lane continued. "Although the water started off amazing it quickly went downhill. The results today are a great indicator of who survived the day. I am proud to say we did an outstanding job of doing that. However, we have a ton left we need to accomplish! Spring break starts tomorrow and that is an opportunity to learn from today as well get back to work!" 

A full spring slate awaits the Dolphins from this point forward. Up next is a dual race with UCF and UConn on Mar. 22 followed by a dual race with Stetson and Drake the next day (Mar. 23). A week later the Dolphins will take part in the Alabama invite (Mar. 30). In total, the Dolphins will compete in seven events before pursuing a sixth-straight title at the MAAC Championships on May 19.