Sunday was the final day of the NCAA Rowing Championships.
By
Ryan Kohn
| 12:33 p.m. May 30, 2021
East County
Sports
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Two rowers with Sarasota ties took their athletic ability to the limit on the final day of the NCAA Rowing Championships, held Sunday at Nathan Benderson Park.
Former Sarasota Crew rowers Julia Braz and Angela Szabo are freshmen at the universities of Stanford and California, respectively, and both sit in the No. 7 seat of their school's II 8+ boat. On Sunday, Braz and the Cardinal finished second in the II 8+ grand final (6:24.48), 1.24 seconds behind Texas, while Szabo and the Golden Bears finished third in the II 8+ petite final (6:34.01), 3.10 seconds behind Brown.
Alabama graduate student Rebekah Stewart, who grew up in west Bradenton and attended Manatee High, raced for Alabama in the I 8+ petite final, finishing fifth (6:38.76).
Sunday's event dealt with several inclement weather delays. The NCAA eventually canceled the Division I medal ceremony, but Texas was named the overall Division I champion.
The crowd at Nathan Benderson Park spanned the length of Regatta Island's beach Sunday for the final day of the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championships.
The Central Oklahoma 4+ boat (rowers Sage Kroeker, Danielle Dick, Allison Staley and Kelsey Woellmer and coxswain Yesenia Gil-Salazar) takes a commanding race lead during the event's Division II grand final.
The Central Oklahoma 4+ boat (rowers Sage Kroeker, Danielle Dick, Allison Staley and Kelsey Woellmer and coxswain Yesenia Gil-Salazar) celebrates after winning the event's Division II grand final (7:42.66).
Members of the Central Oklahoma 8+ boat (Madisyn Kitchell, Kateryna Klymenko, Megan Dwarshuis and Shelby Wackerly) celebrate after winning the event's Division II grand final (6:39.73)
Fans watched the first half of each race at the NCAA Rowing Championships on a large screen before rushing to the beach to watch each race's conclusion.
Some fans chose to ride bikes alongside each race at Nathan Benderson Park.
The Washington 4+ boat(rowers Carmen McNamara-Smith, Fiona Shields, Katherine Slack and Sophia Chaffey and coxswain Sachi Yamamoto) rows to a lead in the event's Division I grand final. Washington would win the event (7:02.17).
Members of the Washington 4+ boat(Katherine Slack and Sophia Chaffey and coxswain Sachi Yamamoto) celebrate after winning the event's Division I grand final (7:02.17).
The California II 8+ boat rows in the event's petite final. Cal freshman Angela Szabo (third from left) rowed for Sarasota Crew.
Angela Szabo (back right) rows her California II 8+ boat in the No. 7 seat alongside coxswain Lily Wieland and No. 8 seat Jacqueline Hendriks.
Cal junior Angela Szabo (third from left) rowed for Sarasota Crew and is now on the Golden Bears' varsity 8+ boat.
File photo
Coxswain Tassica Lim and rowers Isabella Battistoni, Julia Braz, Mathilda Kitzmann and Rebecca Leigh row as part of Stanford's II 8+ boat in the event's grand final. Braz, a freshman, was a member of Sarasota Crew.
Stanford freshman Julia Braz rows as part of the Cardinal's II 8+ boat at the NCAA Rowing Championships.
Stanford's Isabella Battistoni, Julia Braz, Mathilda Kitzmann and Rebecca Leigh after their II 8+ boat finished second in the event's grand final (6:24.48). Braz was a member of Sarasota Crew.
