CHERRY HILL, N.J. --- The first leg of championship season has come and gone for the Jacksonville women's rowing program. The Dolphins concluded a packed weekend of racing, showing out at the Knecht Cup Regatta in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Across four crews, the Dolphins never finished worse than third in any given heat and were among the top performing programs across the entire regatta.

The fours were excellent for the weekend. The second Varsity Four narrowly missed on a spot in the grand final, posting a 8:03.140 time to secure a place in the petite final. There, JU cruised to a first place finish ahead of the likes of Boston College and Villanova.

Jacksonville's time of 8:39.760 would've been good for a Top Five finish amongst the crews in the grand final.

The first Varsity Four posted even stronger results. The Dolphins rowed to a first-place finish in their initial heat with a 8:04.470 finish. In the semi-final, they bested Boston College by three seconds with a rapid 7:37.400, securing a spot in the grand final.

Jacksonville showed well, finishing third with a 8:14.010 time, ahead of UMass, Eastern Michigan and Wisconsin.

JU's eights acquitted themselves well on the water, as well. 

The second Varsity Eight won its opening heat by nearly four seconds, posting a 6:57.560 finish. A time of 7:29.140 in the semi-final saw the Dolphins through to the second final where they finished third with a time of 7:02.430.

The first Varsity Eight narrowly missed out on a first-place finish in its opening heat, racing 0.07 seconds behind first place with a 6:49.680 finish. That still saw JU through to the semi-finals, where they would place third with a time of 7:23.390.

Racing outside of the second final, JU edged out Villanova by less than half a second to secure a second-place finish, racing in 6:58.320.

Up Next
The Dolphins will travel to Tennessee for one of the biggest rowing events in the south, the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta, next weekend. Racing will commence April 18-19.