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Knight Cap: 14 Knights Heading to NCAA Track and Field East Prelims

Men’s Golf’s and Rowing’s seasons come to a close

By Bryson Turner
/ new
Photo: David Gray/American Athletic Conference

The past week of UCF Knights sports consisted of two teams wrapping up their seasons while another team entering the home stretch of its regular season.

Plus, we name the Knight of the Week for your latest Knight Cap for Thursday, May 19, 2022.

Track and Field sends 14 athletes and both relay teams to NCAA Prelims

The UCF Track and Field team had 14 athletes and both relay teams selected to compete in the NCAA East Preliminary in Bloomington, Indiana next week.

Additionally, Brittany Floyd was selected for the heptathlon in the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Oregon. All heptathlon selections advance directly to the Championship, making Floyd the 1st Knight confirmed to be heading for Hayward Stadium.

As for the athletes competing in Bloomington:

  • Ciara Holback will be competing in the 100-meter dash.
  • Beyonce Defreitas will be competing in the 200-meter dash.
  • Latasha Smith, Kiah Williams, and Danielle Bess will compete in the 400-meter dash.
  • Charlotte Crook will compete in the 1500-meter run.
  • Rayniah Jones and Selena Wright will compete in the 100-meter hurdles.
  • Wright will also compete in the 400-meter hurdles.
  • Natalia Madison will compete in the High Jump.
  • Floyd and Jasmine Scott-Kilgo will compete in the Long Jump.
  • Scott-Kilgo, Asherah Collins, and Kiara Lee will compete in the Triple Jump.
  • Adrienne Adams will compete in the Discus Throw.
  • Both 4x100-meter and the 4x400-meter relay teams were selected to compete in Bloomington.

The NCAA East Preliminary kicks off for the Knights at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Baseball takes rain-shortened midweek win

The UCF Baseball team takes down Bethune-Cookman in its final midweek game of the season, a rain-shortened affair that ended after five innings, 10-2.

While the Wildcats got on the board first in the 1st inning thanks to an RBI groundout, the Knights countered in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run by CF Gephry Pena.

Two innings later, UCF broke the game open in the 3rd inning thanks to a pair of three-run home runs: one by LF Lex Boedicker and the other from C Cole Russo.

Bethune-Cookman would get a home run of its own in the 4th inning. However, UCF responded in the bottom of the inning with a SS Noah Orlando scoring on a passed ball and a two-RBI single from 1B Ben McCabe.

The game was brought to a halt and eventually called after five innings due to inclement weather. Starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker was credited with the win after pitching two innings and allowing one run on one hit and one walk.

Head coach Greg Lovelady said he had wanted to play a few more innings to let more players get some playing time. Now, with only one more weekend series before the conference tournament, he said he wants the team to stay healthy and be rested for when the conference tournament begins next week.

That final weekend series will be against the Cincinnati Bearcats, with Game 1 slated for 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Men’s Golf’s season ends at New Haven Regional

The UCF Men’s Golf team concluded their season in New Haven, Connecticut this week after failing to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

The Knights finished in 9th place as a team, scoring 854 (+14) for the tournament. Despite remaining within striking distance of the Top 5, which the team needed to qualify for the championship, a 16-over par final round left them 20 strokes behind 5th-place.

Individually, Johnny Travale and Egor Eroshenko led the team, both finishing at 212 (+2) for the tournament in a tie for 31st. They both finished seven strokes off of the low individual, not on an advancing team, which also could have earned one of them a spot in the championship.

To learn more about the team’s performance in New Haven, check out golfstat.com.

Déjà vu for Rowing at AAC Championship

In a repeat of the 2021 season, the UCF Rowing team swept the runner-up spots in all four races of the American Athletic Conference Championship.

SMU once again took the conference crown and a spot in the NCAA Championship.

Two rowers of the Varsity Eight boat, senior Emily Puia and sophomore Tegan Fookes were named to the all-conference first team.

Another rower from the Varsity Eight boat, senior Anna Kayser Gallego, and its coxswain, graduate student Lauren Roman, were named to the all-conference second team.

Additionally, sophomore Charlotte Wiley of the Varsity Four boat was also named to the all-conference second team.

Knight of the Week

Cole Russo, Baseball

For the second straight midweek game, Cole Russo sends it over the fence.

Last week, he got the first home run of his collegiate career against Miami (FL).

This week, he comes off the bench to pinch hit for C Riley Wash and gets his second collegiate home run to increase UCF’s lead over Bethune-Cookman.

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