SARASOTA, Fla. --- The Jacksonville Dolphins concluded Sunday's racing at the Sarasota victorious more often than not. Of the nine events JU competed in, a Dolphin crew took the top spot in seven of them.

The first race of the day was a tough one for the Dolphins, though. In the first varsity eight, Florida Tech narrowly edged out Jacksonville, with JU finishing in 06:21.75, less than four seconds back of the first-place Panthers.

Despite the result in the first eight, there was plenty to celebrate throughout the raceday.

The first win of the day came in the JV8 race, where two Jacksonville crews were more than competitive. The second varsity eight took first prize by more than six seconds, racing in     06:47.31. The third varsity eight acquitted itself well, finishing fourth with a time of 07:00.38.

In the 2- pair, the Dolphins claimed another trophy, with Jacksonville's twosome lapping the field by 9.23 seconds with a 07:04.00 finish. JU had a second, younger pair compete in the 2-, placing seventh with a 07:53.29 time.

The racing turned back to the eights, but this time with the novices. Jacksonville's rookies took care of business with a 06:31.64 finish to secure the first place crown. 

In the JV4, the Dolphins raced two crews. The second varsity four took the gold, posting a     07:10.36 time to win by just under seven seconds. JU's third varsity four finished in a strong fourth place, racing in 07:24.60.

Jacksonville took another first place in the 2x double, racing in 07:29.39 to blow away the field, as no other crew finished in under eight minutes. The novice four battled, finishing fourth with a     07:33.90 finish to gain valuable racing experience.

The first and second varsity fours both took home titles in their respective events, though under different circumstances. The second varsity four crusades to a 13 second victory, posting a 07:22.01 finish.

The first varsity four was one of the most competitive races of the day, coming down to the final moments. The Dolphins persevered and secured the win over Florida Tech by 2.1 seconds, recording a time of 07:13.72.

Head Coach Preston Weinard
"Entering so many boats makes things chaotic, but also gives us a lot of opportunities to win, and a lot of opportunities to go down a race course. Rowing in Sarasota is always special because it's such a great venue and there's a lot going on and we're excited to have that many boats race today. It felt really good to walk away with that many wins out of those events and then the events that we did not win were great races also. There were so many good moments throughout the day, like the second varsity winning even after they lost a skeg, which is incredibly hard to, and so much to be proud of from our whole team.

We're gonna take it down a notch this week after a long and hard five-week stretch, but we're excited to see the regular season of championships coming up soon."

Up Next
After a short break, the Dolphins head to the Occoquan Invitational April 12 in Fairfax Station, Virginia.