PITTSFIELD, MA - Williams women's crew continued their winning streak at the Little Three Regatta, defending their title at their home course on Onota Lake. Like past years, Amherst did not compete in this regatta, so the race was run as a dual competition against Wesleyan.
The Ephs seized the opportunity to race their first NESCAC crew of the season on a beautiful morning in Pittsfield.
The first race of the day was the Williams 1V. Wesleyan got ahead off the start, but the Ephs stayed calm and fought back to take the lead. The 1V was down by five seats until 800 meters into the race, when they started a strong move through the middle 400, edging out to a three seat advantage.
"Even though the race started off shaky, we remained composed," remarked junior five-seat Emory Strawn. "We focused on our strong, powerful base to move through Wesleyan in the middle of the race."
The second race off the line was the Williams 2V. The Ephs had a strong start, taking a four-seat lead on Wesleyan, but the Cardinals fought back and moved into first place during the middle of the race. The 2V refused to accept this result and executed an aggressive sprint to regain the lead in the final 500 meters of the race.
"I was very impressed with the boat's ability to stay calm and focused throughout the whole piece, even though we were down," commented sophomore coxswain Brittany Chung. "I was even more impressed with the way the boat executed the sprint. It was very exciting to take back the lead in the last 15 strokes of the race."
Third down the race course was the Wesleyan and Williams 3V and the Williams 4V. Since there was not a novice 8+ event, the 3V and 4V were mixtures of freshmen and experienced rowers. The Williams 3V won the event, with Wesleyan taking second and the Williams 4V placing third.
Like the 1V and 2V, this race was close. Freshman coxswain Ava Palmo noted that, "at the beginning of the race we were even with Wesleyan but we didn't let it phase us. I called a move and we quickly pulled ahead and stayed ahead."
The final race of the day was the Novice 4+ event. Williams entered three boats in this event, all of which beat Wesleyan's entry. All the athletes competing for Williams had raced earlier that morning. Eleven of the rowers were freshmen, plus one junior walk-on.
"The frosh four race was a lot of fun because we were all out there pulling for each other," remarked freshman Diana Matthiessen, who rowed in the winning 4+. "It was a great conclusion to a successful morning of racing!"
The Ephs' next competition will be at the New England Championship regatta on April 30th. They will race Wesleyan again, as well as perennial competitors Bates, Wellesley, and Trinity.
