Tampa Rowing Competes In SSC Championship

SARASOTA, Fla. - Barry rowing won its record seventh Sunshine State Conference championship Friday, claiming titles in each of the Varsity 4 and 8 races.

The No. 1-ranked Buccaneers repeated as SSC champs. It was Barry's third title in the last four years -- all at Nathan Benderson Park, the 2018 home of the NCAA Championships. This is the first conference title repeat for Barry since 1999-2000. The Bucs became the first SSC school to repeat as conference champions since Nova in 2011-12.

Barry's Varsity 4 boat won its title with a time of 7.49.9. No. 6 Nova Southeastern was second in 8:01.6 with a split of 11.7 seconds. No. 4 Florida Tech finished third 14.1 seconds behind the Bucs, Rollins was fourth in 8:37.3 and Tampa fifth in 8:53.5. Barry secured its title with the Varsity 8 boat's 6:57.2 winning time. Nova was second in 8:01.6, resulting in a split of 6.4 seconds. FIT finished third, 10.6 seconds behind Barry, Tampa was fourth in 8:17.8 and Rollins fifth in 8:25.2.

Barry overcame a little adversity before the start of the Varsity 8 race when one of its boat's oars snapped just minutes before the race, requiring a replacement. But the Buccaneers didn't let it deter them from its quest of winning.

In the Exhibition race, Barry's boat finished third with a split of 13.8 behind winner Nova, which crossed the line in 8:08.9. FIT was second with a split of 9.7.

Barry's seven titles are one more than Nova Southeastern and two more than Florida Tech.

For Tampa Rhianna Sefarian earned a spot on the All-Sunshine State Conference Rowing Team, while teammate Taylor Pessi earned a spot on the All-SSC Freshman/Novice Team. 

All-Sunshine State Conference Team

Bethany Desmond Barry

Sarah Woefler Nova Southeastern                 

Samantha Martinez Florida Tech   

Rosita Bancheva Barry

Rhianna Sefarian Tampa

Isabella Sandoval Rollins

Macarena Llano Abscal Barry

Remi McClellan Nova Southeastern

Stephanie Dinkel Barry

All-SSC Freshman/Novice Team

Aurelia Gervasi Florida Tech

McKenzie George Nova Southeastern

Rachel Wasserman Rollins

Taylor Pessi Tampa