GOLD RIVER, CA – Williams women's crew kicked off the two-day NCAA regatta at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma this morning. Both the 1V and 2V boats posted strong results in the morning heats, with the 1V placing first and advancing directly to the Grand Final on Saturday, May 28. The 2V came in second to advance to the afternoon repechage, where it placed first and also advanced to the Grand Final.
For the second varsity eights, the winner of each heat advanced directly to tomorrow's Grand Final, while the second and third place boats in each of the two heats raced again in the afternoon in the repechage to see which boats would be placed in the Grand Final and which boats would be placed in the Petite Final.
The Eph 2V boat was in a morning heat race with defending NCAA champion Bates College and William Smith College. Bates and Williams jumped off the start together, taking almost a full length on William Smith in the early meters. The Ephs held even with Bates through the 500m mark, but the Bobcats took a strong move around 750m, gaining a six-seat lead. Bates continued to step away, extending its lead at the 1000m to stern-to-bow on Williams, with William Smith trailing by 3 lengths. Going into the final 500m, Bates gained open water on Williams, while the Ephs cruised to a 6-length lead over William Smith. All boats held their margins, with Bates clocking in at 6:46.91 and Williams crossing the line in 6:54.74, about 8 seconds behind Bates and about 40 seconds ahead of William Smith, who finished in 7:37.42. Finishing second in the heat race placed the Ephs in the afternoon Repechage with a second chance of qualifying for the Grand Finals on Saturday.
"Varsity 2 boats are learning boats," said Eph head coach Kate Maloney. "They got out aggressively and perhaps over rowed a bit and got outside of their plan and they learned from that experience."
The Eph 1V posted a strong morning effort and out paced the field to win by open water plus two seats over Little Three and NESCAC foe Wesleyan taking first place in a time of 6:41.72. Wesleyan was timed in 6:46.55, sending both NESCAC 1V boats into tomorrow's Grand Final.
The 1V rowed a commanding race, taking a full length over Wesleyan by the 500m mark. Williams focused on power, understroking the field and continuing to build its lead throughout the race. The Ephs extended to open water by the 750m. Wesleyan pressured the Ephs in the sprint, but the Williams women responded and held their margin to cross the line first. Wellesley, Bates, Pacific Lutheran University, and Ithaca will join the Ephs and Cardinals in the Grand Final tomorrow.
"I told the 1Vs that the morning conditions were the best we had seen all year and that they should row to the conditions, but not go crazy," said Maloney. "I wanted them to be really proud of their efforts and they had by far their fastest time of the year."
In the afternoon, the 2V returned to the course for the repechage, in which the top two boats advance to the Grand Final, facing Pacific Lutheran University, Washington College, and William Smith. Though the morning conditions had been nearly perfect, by the afternoon a stiff cross-headwind had kicked up. Unfazed, the Ephs set off with an aggressive start, taking ¾ of a length on second-place Pacific Lutheran University in the first 500m. Williams continued to step away slowly throughout the race, stretching the lead to a length by 1000m. In the sprint, Williams gained open water to cross the line in 7:38.59, with Pacific Lutheran University following in 7:42.69. Both boats will join Wellesley and Bates in the Grand Final, while third place William Smith and fourth place Washington College will row in the Petite Final, after finishing in 7:47.80 and 8:22.27, respectively.
"Assistant coach Meg Conan has done a great job with the 2Vs and they responded to her decision to change tactics in the afternoon and it all worked very well," stated Maloney. "They were much more composed in the afternoon."
"The goal tomorrow is for the 2V to piece together all that they have learned and put it into one race and see where it takes them," Maloney said. "The 1V is somewhat inexperienced at this level, but I think their work-a-day attitude and their confidence will carry them tomorrow."
The Eph 2V will take to the water tomorrow at 2:12 p.m. EST in the Grand Final and at 2:36 p.m. EST the Eph 1V boat will compete in the Grand Final.
The NCAA Champion is based on the combined performance of the Varsity 1 and Varsity 2 boats.
Eph Varsity 2 Boat:
Ava Palmo (Cox)
Mikhayla Armstrong (8)
Caroline Kessler (7)
Emily Burch (6)
Rebecca Smith (5)
Bety Lopez (4)
Diana Matthiessen (3)
Gemma Holt (2)
Merritt Harlan (1)
Eph Varsity 1 Boat:
Louisa Abel (Cox)
Anne Tewksbury (8)
Sophia Jannetty (7)
Emory Strawn (6)
Gabrielle Markel (5)
Eileen Russell (4)
Bertie Miller (3)
Clara Beery (2)
Katie Costantini (1)
