CLERMONT, Fla. --- The Jacksonville women's rowing team opened the 2026 spring racing season with a head-to-head competition against the Villanova Wildcats. Across three races, the Dolphins top crews placed first while the whole lineup got valuable competitive reps to open the season.

The Dolphins originally planned to row on Lake Minnehaha, but weather conditions forced a late relocation to Lake Palatlakaha. Even with the late changes, the Dolphins were unfazed and executed at a high level.

In the Varsity Eights, the first varsity eight boosted the best finish of the day, defeating the Wildcats top crew in all three heats. The first two heats were close battles, winning by 1.68 seconds in race one and 1.06 in race two.

In the final sprint, the Dolphins tripled their margin of victory, besting Villanova by more than three seconds.

Jacksonville's second varsity eight outraced the Wildcats second varsity eight all three heats. The first heat was close, but by the last two sprints of the day the Dolphins second varsity eight finished closer to the Wildcats top crew than their second boat.

In the third varsity eight, Jacksonville took all three heats by more than 10 seconds, including a dominant 16.09 second victory in the second bout,.

The varsity four race was a battle between JU crews, as Jacksonville took the top three spots in all three races. The first varsity four won the first heat narrowly by 1.03 seconds over the second varsity four.

The last two races, the second varsity four flipped the script, winning by nearly three seconds in race two. The final race was a nail-biter, with the second varsity four winning the day by less than a second.

The Dolphins third varsity four was in front of Villanova's top crew by no fewer than 2.5 seconds in every race.

Jacksonville will continue its weekend rowing celebration with a senior day event at the Negaard Rowing Center Saturday as part of the Dolphins 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Assistant Coach Ali Kolaga
"We are very proud of the attitude and intensity our athletes brought to the water this morning. It was great to get the opportunity to kick off our spring season against Villanova. This morning's results reflect our goal to reset the standard, and we're hungry for more this season."