FULL RESULTS HERE
Eph Lineups
1V: c-
Isabelle Shah, 8-
Tad Montesano, 7-
Gus Nordmeyer, 6-
Nick Ambeliotis, 5-
Nick Beischer,
4-
Trevor Eckler, 3-
Riley Will, 2-
Collin Dent, 1-
Ben Washburne
2V: c-
Katie Friedman, 8-
Peter Fousek, 7-
Matt Schliefman, 6-
Cam Edgar, 5-
Ian Pultz-Earle,
4-
Bernal Cortés, 3-
Zola Baird, 2-
Daniel Queen, 1-
Peter Hollander
PITTSFIELD, MASS. – Onota Lake, with characteristically challenging conditions, played host to four crews competing for the NESCAC West Championship. The pressure was on as just the top two finishers of the 1
st Varsity event between Williams, Trinity, Hamilton, and Wesleyan would earn their team a spot in next week's NESCAC Championships in Boston. Trinity and Williams answered the call, taking the top two spots respectively, and earned a berth in the NESCAC Championship next Sunday hosted by Tufts University.
The Williams 2V began the days racing with a slight tailwind and a bit of choppy water near the finish line. Lining up four across, Williams jumped off the start to an early lead. Battling to push the Trinity crew back, the Williams crew powered through the middle of the piece. Entering the second half of the race, the Ephs kept the intensity high and sent the other three crews into the rear-view mirror. The Williams 2V crew continued their winning ways by crossing the finish line with several lengths of open water over Trinity in a final time of 6:18.55. Trinity finished in 6:32.61; Wesleyan in 6:40.52; and Hamilton rounding out the race in 6:59.6. Seven-seat Matt Schliefman stated, "I thought it was a great race start to finish. Happy to be able to race again next week!"
By the time the 1
st Varsity event got underway, the wind had picked up considerably with clouds rolling in, and yet the Ephs crew showed prowess and composure in these conditions. Trading blows down the first 500 meters of the course, the Williams crew was sitting just down on Trinity and Wesleyan. By the 750-meter mark, the Ephs had walked through Wesleyan but were still just shy of sitting even with Trinity. The Williams crew showed a valiant fight, moving back up on Trinity coming to the end of the race, but were unable to finish with their bow ball ahead. Coxswain
Isabelle Shah noted, "We stayed with Trinity to the end, even when conditions and wind worsened in the last 300m. All in all, a solid piece laid down by the team and I'm very proud of how our boat dealt with the conditions and circumstances throughout the race."
The final margin was less than a second between the top two crews with Trinity finishing in a time of 6:03.62 to Williams in 6:04.34, then Wesleyan in 6:16.17, and Hamilton in 6:24.15.
Williams head coach
Marc Mandel reflected on the day's racing: "Both boats raced incredibly hard, and we are looking forward to another several weeks of practice and continuing the process of getting faster. Hats off to Trinity's first eight, who showed tremendous poise and strength throughout the first eight race."
Williams will head to the Malden River eastern Massachusetts next weekend to face off against Trinity, Tufts, and Bates in the NESCAC Championship.
