Mara Allen

Biography

Mara Allen was named UCF's rowing coach in June 2023, becoming the Knight's fourth head coach in program history. Second Year (2024-25) During her second year at the helm of the program, Allen led the Knights to a historical finish at both the Big 12 Championship and NCAA Championship. She led the program to its first-ever Big 12 Title as all boats won their respective races, claiming gold in every competition. Allen was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year following the dominant conference win. Under her guidance, two rowers earned individual Big 12 honors as Hannah Lovejoy was named Rower of the Year and Lucy Buckingham was named Newcomer of the Year. In addition to the individual awards, six rowers were named to the All-Big 12 Team. Allen also aided in the Knights three Big 12 Boat of the Week titles in the spring season for the I Eight and I Four. In addition to the conference championship, Allen led the Black and Gold to their seventh NCAA Championship appearance. At the regatta, each boat competing successfully marked their respective boat's highest finish in program history. The I Four placed at 13, the highest a UCF boat has ever finished. Allen led the team to a team finish of 15, marking the program's highest finish at the championships. The Knights were steadily ranked throughout the entire season, the first time the team has been ranked as a whole in program history, under Allen's supervision. The squad reached a peak of No. 14 in the Pocock CRCA Poll following the