JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The home stretch of the spring rowing season has officially arrived for the Jacksonville Dolphins. After a full season of racing in the Sunshine State, JU will make its first of three scheduled trips north for the Knecht Cup Regatta in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Crews from dozens of different schools around the country will gather along the Cooper River in the outskirts of Philadelphia in one of the biggest college rowing events of the year so far. The event will be live streamed on the Knecht Cup YouTube page, link available HERE.

The Dolphins will send four crews up north for the weekend of racing: the first and second Varsity Four and the first and second Varsity Eight. Saturday's racing will feature qualifying heats before the full slate of semifinals and finals on Sunday.

Jacksonville's schedule starts at 10:32 AM Saturday morning as the second Varsity Four competes in Heat Five alongside Old Dominion, UMass and Delaware. At 11 AM, the first Varsity Four will compete in Heat three against Robert Morris, Embry-Riddle, Sacred Heart and Bryant.

The first Varsity Four is the one event conducting its semifinals on Saturday night. Top two finishers in each heat --- plus the top six additional times --- will qualify for one of three semifinal heats starting at 5:01 PM Saturday. Top times from Saturday night's semifinals will qualify for the petite final (9:57 AM) or final (10:04 AM).

For the second Varsity Four, the best time in each heat will qualify for the final at 9:50 AM, with each runner up in Saturday's heats qualifying for the petite final at 9:43 AM Sunday.

In the second Varsity Eight, Jacksonville will compete at 2:27 PM in Heat Two. The Dolphins will compete against La Salle, Colgate, Lehigh and Old Dominion. The semifinals start the day of racing on Sunday, opening at 7:30 AM. The petite final runs at 11:35 AM and the main final at 11:42 AM Sunday.

The first Varsity Eight starts its weekend in Heat Two at 4:12 PM on Saturday. JU will go toe-to-toe with Connecticut, St. Josephs, Lehigh and Boston College. The top two finishers in each heat plus the top six additional times will qualify for one of three semifinals starting at 7:51 AM Sunday. 

Third and fourth-place finishers from each semifinal will qualify for the petite final at 12:40 PM Sunday before the grand final amongst the top two finishers in each semifinal. The final is slated for 12:47 PM.

Lineups
Second Varsity Four
Stroke - Joely Lewis
2 - Sam Keough
3 - Ellie Carik
Bow - Chloe Cooke
Coxswain - Xitllali Guerrero

First Varsity Four
Stroke - Leah Nirenberg
2 - Kendyl Baron
3 - Caris Landis
Bow - Izzy Allison
Coxswain - Jenefer Clarke

Second Varsity Eight
Stroke - Kennedy Rowley
2 - Cat Geiger-Costa
3 - Emma Domingo
4 - Nyah Lam
5 - Peyton Joyner
6 - Lura Johnson
7 - Mackenzie Shealy
Bow - Victoria Corbett
Coxswain - Delaney Ferguson

First Varsity Eight
Stroke - Milena Willcox
2 - Sophia Scarboro
3 - Liz Sauter
4 - Tayte Swenson
5 - Teagan Castleberry
6 - Amy Downing
7 - Holly Rosser
Bow - Anne Geurts
Coxswain - Kayla Pelletier

Head Coach Mike Lane

"This year's Knecht Cup is huge! Thirty-four Women's Varsity Eights entered, which is the largest event I can remember.  This will be a huge test for us.  Not to mention half of our MAAC competitors will be competing as well so it will be a great opportunity to see where we stack up versus our MAAC Competition!  

The unique thing about this regatta is that it is hosted on the same body of water that our MAAC Championship will be held in May, so it is great practice for us to be best prepared for that championship. Coming off a tremendous finish at the Sarasota 2K, we are excited to get back out and reset our standard as we head into the final races of our spring season!"