WORCESTER, MA – Williams Women's Crew left campus before dawn to arrive in Worcester for the first regatta of the fall season. Despite the clouds and intermittent rain, the water was calm with a slight tailwind on the race course. The team brought three eights, two varsity boats, and a freshman/novice boat, and all boats showed a strong performance, with the freshman/novice boat winning their race with an impressive margin.
The 1V raced first, coxed by
Ariana Oppenheimer and stroked by
Ellie Davis, followed by
Abby Murphy,
Prairie Resch,
Riley Galizio,
Claire McDonald,
Molly McWeeny,
Carolyn Fortin, and
Lola Kovalski in bow seat. The crew experienced a chaotic start when, even though they arrived at the start line two minutes before their official race time, the officials instructed the crew to immediately turn onto the course and begin their race. With no time to hesitate, the crew started down the 4000-meter course on the Quinsigamond River, chasing WPI and holding off Smith throughout the race. The crew finished 5th out of 19 entries, with a time of 15:27.802 – seven seconds behind Smith and ten seconds behind WPI. Captain
Riley Galizio '24 said that "It was a good place to start the season. I think we have room to improve in terms of staying together but we have a lot of power and a lot of good technique in the boat."
The 2V – coxed by
Katie Scott and stroked by
Audrey Riddle, followed by
Emma Caruso,
Marie Brewer, Madeline Horn,
Brenda Jaroker,
Alexa Hanson,
Catherine Farman-Farmaian, and
Ana Wever in bow seat – also experienced a chaotic start, but didn't let it stop them from finding their stride and power throughout the race. "We took a moment with that adrenalin to say 'okay, let's go,'" stroke seat
Audrey Riddle '26 said. "We set a really good rhythm. Our rate was what we wanted, and our split was lower than our goal." Smith's 2v was breathing down the crew's neck throughout the race, but coxswain
Katie Scott used this tight competition as motivation for her boat. "The entire race we held Smith off and we responded to all of Katie's calls," Riddle said. The boat finished 12
th overall and 3
rd out of the pool of second varsity eights with a time of 16:07.521.
The freshman/novice boat raced last and finished 1
st out of seven boats with a time of 16:30.847, more than a minute faster than Clark, who finished 2
nd with a time of 17:23.133.
Charis Woo coxed the boat, with Coco FitzMaurice stroking, followed by
Vivian Johnson,
Cora Birknes,
Lindsay Gadsden,
Margaret MacGillivray,
Charlotte Ragozin,
Olivia Thurman, and
Sophia Clavenna in bow seat. Most of these athletes have previous rowing experience, but Birknes, MacGillivray, and Ragozin came into this race having taken their first strokes just a few weeks prior. The boat wasted no time getting ahead off the start line, hitting their goal rate and establishing a solid rhythm immediately. "We got into a rhythm and Charis did a phenomenal job of bringing us to a solid pace,"
Lindsay Gadsden '27 said. The crew walked through two boats in the first 700 meters of the race and kept pushing through the finish line. "At 3k we got a little bobbly, but we rallied and brought it back for the last 500 meters," Gadsen said. "I think the 'frovice' race was the best start we could have had for the season. I think it brought us together as a group and made sure we jelled. I'm excited to see where we go with more time on the water."
"We took on an impressive group of walk-ons this fall who have put in a lot of work over the last couple of weeks," said Assistant Coach
Eileen Russell. "With our energetic and supportive recruited first-years, they focused on power and togetherness and it paid off with a big win for their boat. I'm excited to see what this class brings in as we fold them into our varsity boats!"
"The varsity boats had solid races today that were a reflection of the highly focused practices over the last four weeks," head coach
Paula Thoms said. "We're excited to get to work next week to prepare for Head of the Charles on October 22
nd."
