Kayla Bell Earns All-SSC Honors

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Florida Tech's Varsity Eight has been named the 2021 Sunshine State Conference Boat of the Year, while Coach of the Year honors go to Barry University's Nick Johnson. University of Tampa rower Kayla Bell represented the Spartans on the All-SSC team. Voting for Boat of the Year and Coach of the Year is conducted among the league's women's rowing coaches.

SSC Rowing All-Conference History: All-SSC Teams | Boats & Coaches of the Year

Florida Tech's Varsity Eight receives its fourth consecutive Boat of the Year honor, fifth overall. The Panthers' Varsity Eight powered the team to a fourth consecutive SSC championship, winning the varsity 8 race with a time of 7:03.00. The Panthers also posted wins in duals against Barry and Rollins and at the Stetson Invitational. Florida Tech's V8 squad is made up of Graysen Pensch (bow), Simona Vileniskyte, Sydney Spicer, Hannah Schilcher, Maclain Zajicek, Liza Lutter, Ismini Noni, Anna Kayser Gallego (stroke), and Abbigale Smith (coxswain).

Johnson is selected as Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Despite the onset of COVID-19, Johnson was able to piece together a strong schedule for the Buccaneers program. This season, Barry posted third-place finishes in the SSC Varsity 8, SSC Varsity 4, and overall at the conference regatta. They also placed third at the FIRA Regatta. Johnson remains the fourth Coach of the Year honoree from Barry.

Boat of the Year: Florida Tech Varsity Eight
Coach of the Year: Nick Johnson, Barry

The All-SSC Rowing Team was named following the completion of the Sunshine State Conference Regatta on April 23rd. Earning a spot on the team were:

Abby Smith (cox), Florida Tech
Anna Kayser Gallego, Florida Tech†
Liza Lutter, Florida Tech‡
Graysen Pensch, Florida Tech
Bethany Thompson, Embry-Riddle‡
Naomi Brooks, Embry-Riddle
Maria Stampolkou, Barry
Alyssa Murphy, Rollins‡
Kayla Bell, Tampa

† Freshman/Novice team 2018
‡ Freshman/Novice team 2019

All Freshman/Novice Team was also announced following the SSC Regatta. Those athletes are:

Olivia Marita, Barry       
Shelby Ernst, Embry-Riddle
Maclain Zajicek, Florida Tech
Peyton Connor, Rollins
 
The 2021 National Championship will be held May 28 - 30 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. Florida Tech and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University have both earned bids and will represent the conference at this year's event.