COMPLETE RESULTS
WORCESTER, MA -- The women's crew team tackled its first round of championship racing this Saturday at the New England Rowing Championship on Lake Quinsigamond. All boats medaled over the course of the day with the 3V placing first, Novice 4 placing second, and 1V and 2V finishing third, showing strong promise for next week's National Invitational Rowing Championship, which is rowed on the same course.
The novice 4+ kicked off the day of racing with junior Sarah Cooperman; sophomore coxswain Calvin Ludwig; and freshmen Josie Maynard, Harper Johnson, and Grace Chamberlin. The novices rowed a strong race in the morning heat, capped off with an exhilarating sprint to take first over Bowdoin by .3 seconds. The boat's performance earned a favored lane for the Grand Final, raced in the afternoon. The Ephs faced off against the Polar Bears again in the Grand Final, joined by Wesleyan, Franklin Pierce, Merrimack, and Assumption. Though Bowdoin managed to secure the lead, Williams pulled off another photo finish to place second ahead of Merrimack and Franklin Pierce. The novices finished in 8:13.04, less than 5 seconds behind first-place Bowdoin and about .7 seconds faster than third-place Merrimack.
"I thought our boat really brought it today," stroke seat Maynard said. "Both of our races were really competitive so it was fun seeing how we perform under pressure. Calvin did an amazing job motivating us and I could definitely feel everyone giving everything that they had."
Next to the line was the third varsity 8, which featured athletes from every class including senior Bety Lopez; juniors Molly Burroughs, Becca Dunwoody, and Katie Swoap; sophomores Ria Hanson and Rachel Jones; and freshmen Julia Mini, Ava Palmo, and Annie Rush. The women rowed an aggressive race in the morning heat, leading from start to finish over perennial rival Bates, and crossing the line in 7:05.13 with 6-second lead on the Bobcats. When they returned for the afternoon Grand Final, the Ephs lined up against Tufts, Bates, Wesleyan, Wellesley, and WPI. While all boats remained fairly close off the start, the Williams 3V stepped away consistently over the body of the race, finishing first in 7:15.84. Bates placed second in 7:20.71, with Wellesley third in 7:21.20.
"I think that our boat put everything we had out there," commented six seat Mini. "We raced with a lot of heart. It was amazing to earn the gold for our senior, Bety. One of our main mantras during the race was trust—trust each other, trust our plan, and trust our training."
The 2V stepped up next, racing Simmons, Middlebury, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, and Wesleyan in the morning heat. The Ephs cruised to a first-place finish in 6:58.00, more than 9 seconds ahead of second-place Wesleyan. The afternoon brought new challenges as the women faced off against Bates, Wellesley, UNH, Trinity, and Wesleyan again. Crossing the line in 7:13.58, Williams widened its gap on Wesleyan to about 11 seconds to secure a third place finish behind first-place Wellesley and second-place Bates. With first place finishing in 7:08.19, the Ephs were just 5.4 seconds off the lead.
The 2V featured senior Merritt Harlan; junior Gemma Holt; sophomores Brittany Chung and Rebecca Smith; and freshmen Mikhayla Armstrong, Emily Burch, Caroline Kessler, Kate Latimore, and Diana Matthiessen.
"It was a fun day of racing in a competitive field," remarked bow seat Harlan. "We fought hard until the end but our best effort was not quite enough this weekend. I can't wait to continue to try and find more speed this upcoming week for NIRCs."
Rounding out the day, the 1V raced last in both the morning heats and afternoon finals. In the morning, the women competed against long-time rival Trinity for the first time this season, racing most of the 2K course stroke for stroke. The Bantams edged out the Ephs by just over a second, with both boats advancing to the Grand Final along with Wesleyan, Bates, Wellesley, and Tufts. In the afternoon, the women managed to step ahead of Trinity, vying for the lead with Bates and Wesleyan. Bates sprinted to first place to finish in 6:51.79, with Wesleyan and Williams close behind in 6:54.78 and 6:55.39, respectively.
The 1V featured seniors Katie Costantini, Sophia Jannetty, and Annie Tewksbury; juniors Gabby Markel and Emory Strawn; sophomores Louisa Abel, Clara Beery, and Bertie Miller; and freshman Eileen Russell.
"We were excited about the learning curve and the big improvement between our heat and our final," said five seat Markel. "We're stoked to keep going on that trajectory, and it's awesome we have another week to work before our next race!"
The Ephs will race next at the National Invitational Rowing Championship, also in Worchester, Mass., Sunday, May 8.
Results courtesy of Quinsigamond Rowing Association.
