PITTSFIELD, MA— The conditions were frigid and windy today as Williams raced Tufts on Lake Onota. Williams had a solid and competitive day of racing in the last home race of the season.
The 1V raced first and was coxed by
Julia Lim and stroked by
Maya Tait, followed by
Isabel Mikheev,
Erin Barry,
Emily Hugo,
Prairie Resch,
Ella Napack,
Anna Owens and
Gabby Fazzalari in bow seat. Williams and Tufts both executed fast starts and the boats were neck and neck during the first 300 meters of the race. As each crew settled into their rhythm, Tufts pulled ahead of Williams and the margin was bow to stern by the 500-meter mark. Williams maintained contact with Tufts throughout the middle 1000 meters, working their effective swing to catch up to the Jumbos. Tufts walked away from Williams in the last 500 meters of the race, picking up a lot of momentum in the sprint, to finish 6 seconds ahead of Williams with a time of 7:33.9. Williams ended with a time of 7:39.7. 5 seat
Emily Hugo shared,"We rowed a really good race despite the result! We were able to make all of the changes we'd been working on all week and rowed well technically in tough conditions, and we're going to come into our championship season hungry for more speed."
The 2V raced next and was coxed by
Sarah Gantt and stroked by
Ava Rust, followed by
Riley Galizio,
Audrey Riddle,
Ellie Iorio,
Ellie Davis,
Abby Murphy,
Marie Brewer and
Madeleine Horn in bow seat. Tufts jumped ahead of Williams off the start with strong beginning high strokes. Tufts was a boat length up on Williams by 300 meters in, and Williams pushed back to maintain this margin and not let Tufts walk any further during the first half of the race. Williams took a focus 10 over the 1000-meter mark that allowed them to lean into their effective rhythm and gain speed. Williams and Tufts were even by 500 meters to go, and then the boats traded stroke for stroke for the lead as they crossed the finish. Williams finished ahead with a time of 7:49.5, .4 seconds in front of Tufts' time of 7:49.9. 7 seat
Riley Galizio noted, "The 2v had a great mental race today. We know that we have power and we have been working on using it efficiently together the whole week. While we were down from the start, we didn't let ourselves give up. We locked in and walked straight through them to beat them by 0.4 seconds. I'm excited to see how we can use this newfound mental fortitude in the championship season."
The 3V was coxed by
Katie Scott and stroked by
Isabelle Zollinger, followed by
Carolyn Fortin,
Emma Caruso,
Claire McDonald,
Arden Fluehr,
Mia Kabillio,
Molly McWeeny and
Ella Potee in bow seat. Tufts pushed ahead of Williams off the start, but Williams remained composed and executed a competitive beginning 300 meters. Tufts walked through Williams through the first half of the race, but Williams fought to maintain contact with Tufts' stern deck through the halfway point. Tufts began to walk away from Williams in the third 500 meters, gaining open water that they built on with a fast sprint. Williams was confident and aggressive as they crossed the finish at a high stroke rate with a time of 8:26.4, 17 seconds behind Tufts' time of 8:09.7. 4 seat
Arden Fluehr shared that "our boat really pulled through this weekend. We made strides throughout the week with our sprints, and I can't wait to gain even more power in this upcoming week."
The 4V was
Riku Nakano and stroked by
Alex Bonat, followed by
Brenda Jaroker,
Katie McKenna,
Grace Clarke,
Annie Refermat,
Amaka Ibekwe,
Greta Gruber and Bri Palmieri in bow seat. Tufts walked ahead of Williams off the start and built off their early open water margin all the way to the finish. Williams had a fast starting sequence that set up solid rhythm and power for the remainder of the race. The tough conditions made for a few bobbles during the middle 1000 meters, but they recovered well from the off strokes with composure and aggression. The boat had a very strong sprint with a large drop in splits during the last 400 meters. Williams finished with a time of 8:53.7, 43 seconds behind Tufts' time of 8:10.0. Coxswain
Riku Nakano shared "I'm proud of how well we prepped for this race; we had a great few practices leading up to it and went in mentally strong. We had some tough moments in the race but we got our splits back down every time and kept going."
The 5V 4+ was coxed by
Ariana Oppenheimer and stroked by
Catherine Farman-Farmaian and followed by
Alexa Hanson,
Maddy Andersen and
Ana Wever in bow seat. Williams had a tough start but stayed calm readjusted after the first couple strokes to gain an effective rhythm. By 400 meters in, the boat found their stride and pushed ahead of the Tufts' boat. Williams had a solid middle 1000 meters where they focused on their technique as they widened the gap between the boats. Williams had an aggressive sprint as their teammates cheered on the sidelines, finishing with a time of 10:10.5, 21 seconds ahead of Tufts' time of 10:31.2. 2 seat
Maddy Andersen reflected that "despite a bit of a rocky start, our boat stayed calm and came together to find an effective rhythm. I was proud of how we were able to push ourselves even further during the final sprint, dialing in and finishing strong."
Ephs Head Coach
Paula Thoms reflected that "All season we have been focusing on our "main thing", which is to put together the fastest 2k's we can in each boat, every opportunity we get to race. Doing this requires confidence, consistency and dedication from each team member. As we move into the championship season, we will continue with this pursuit and push to find as much speed as possible. Thanks to Tufts for traveling to Onota Lake this weekend! We look forward to racing them again at NERC and NIRC."
As Williams heads into their championship season with New England Rowing Championships next weekend in Worcester, the rowers are eager to pick up strength and speed this next week of training. The boats are excited for what they have accomplished this season and eager give the next two weeks of racing their all.
