Men's Crew Wins National Invitational Collegiate Regatta and NESCAC Conference Title

WORCESTER, MA - Williams Men's Crew raced at the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta this Saturday, which is the NESCAC Championship race and thus the IRA Division III National Championship qualifier. The wind varied significantly throughout the day, starting as a cross-headwind that changed to a cross-tail but tended to vary between races. Williams Men's Crew had an outstanding performance, with the 1V, 2V, and 3V all finishing first while the 4V finished third; this performance resulted in Williams Men's Crew winning the NESCAC conference, the team points trophy, the joint Men's-Women's points trophy (Williams Women's Crew also won the NESCAC title), and the men's team qualified for the IRA Division III National Championship.

The day began with the 1V's heat, where Williams faced off against Michigan, Hobart, Hamilton, and Adrian College. Williams Men's Crew got up off the start and held their lead for the full 2,000 meters, finishing in 6:05.09 and making Grand Finals. They were followed across the finish line by Hobart (6:08.65), who received the second Grand Finals spot, while Hobart (6:12.96) and Hamilton (6:25.46) would go on to the Petite Final. Adrian College (6:30.30) went on to the Third Level Final.

The second varsity eight heat soon followed, with Williams racing familiar competition in Wesleyan, Bates, MIT, Tufts, Hamilton, and RIT. Williams had a strong start which resulted in an early lead, and although Wesleyan and Bates stuck with Williams for the full 2,000 meters, Williams would cross the finish line first in 6:25.21. Wesleyan ended up being disqualified due to a missing sandbag, and thus Bates (6:26.72) and MIT (6:28.13) made it into Grand Finals while Tufts (6:33.73), Hamilton (6:55.34), and RIT (6:58.92) would go in to the Petite Final.

The Williams 3V's heat included Michigan, Wesleyan, RIT, and Trinity. Like the first two boats, the Williams 3V had a quick start that led to an insurmountable lead and an overall time of 6:24.79. Michigan (6:29.49) and Wesleyan (6:32.94) followed Williams across the line to make Grand Finals, while RIT (6:36.48) and Trinity (6:50.19) would move on to the Petite Final.

The Open Four was the final heat of the morning for Williams Men's Crew, with the Williams four racing against University of New Hampshire, Colby, and Rochester. Colby did not make it to the start, while the other three fours showed a great ability to race inside of the gunnels. University of New Hampshire finished in 7:15.71, Williams finishing second and made Grand Finals with 7:27.71, and Rochester finished with a  time of 7:52.19. With the four making Grand Finals, every Williams Men's Crew entry in NIRC made Grand Finals, providing an exciting afternoon of racing for Williams' fans.

The first varsity eight kicked off the afternoon of finals racing. Williams lined up at the start with MIT, Michigan, Wesleyan, Trinity, and Tufts. The Williams 1V Grand Final race looked similar to their heat, with an early lead achieved by the Ephs that would then be expanded on over the course of the full 2,000 meters. Williams crossed the finish line first with a time of 5:48.15, followed by MIT (5:52.70) winning silver, and Wesleyan (5:53.67) winning bronze. Tufts (5:55.14), Michigan (5:57.4), and Trinity (6:08.04) rounded out the first varsity eight grand finals. The first varsity eight's incredible performance won the NESCAC Conference for Williams Men's Crew for the third time in a row, and qualified both the first and second eights for the IRA Division III National Championship. Stroke seat Tad Montesano '23 said, "I think this crew loves race day because it gives us the opportunity to apply what we spend weeks training to do. We train to race. We love to race. And this year, we've been fairly good at it. So, when we got off the start line we settled in to do what we prepare for. We had a strong rhythm, trust in each other, and the fitness to maintain speed. It's always gratifying to put this winning combo together. So thankful for the guys in my boat that I got to do it with them today."

The second varsity eight raced their Grand Final next, facing down Trinity, Michigan, Bates, MIT, and Hobart. The second eight lead the field from the start, and ended up expanding their lead to nearly eight seconds by the end of the race. Williams crossed the finish line in 5:54.09 and won gold, followed by Bates winning silver (6:01.92), and Trinity winning bronze (6:01.96). Michigan (6:02.72), Hobart (6:03.83), and MIT (6:17.33) rounded out the 2V Grand Finals. Bow seat Zola Baird '23 described the race as follows: "I was incredibly proud of the way we executed our race today. It has been a tough two weeks for the 2V, but we were able to have our best race of the season when it mattered. I am proud to row with all of the guys in this boat and I am excited to see what speed we can find before IRA."

In the 3V Grand Final Williams lined up against Hobart, Michigan, Tufts, WPI, and Wesleyan. The Williams third varsity eight followed the first two boats in rowing strong at the start and continuing to slowly expand on their lead over the course of the race. Williams finished first and received gold with their time of 6:00.56, while Michigan won silver with 6:03.00, and Hobart won bronze with a time of 6:06.09. Wesleyan followed (6:07.93), and then Tufts (6:11.49) and WPI (6:13.06). Stroke seat Myer Liebman, when asked about the race, credited another rower: "Special shoutout to senior Theo for leading us from 2 seat this season." Theo Tellides '23, when asked for a comment, described the race as follows: "After putting down the fastest time in heats, we were set up for grand finals. Michigan and Hobart got off the line really quick starting a few seats up on us. Over the next one thousand meters we set down a punishing rhythm and walked back to a full boat length lead. With 700 meters to go Michigan initiated an early sprint and started to cut down our lead. At 400 meters left we responded and cemented our victory. As a senior, I was so glad that my final race was both a tough fight and resulted in gold medal at a championship regatta. I am so proud of my boys."

The fourth varsity eight raced their first and only race of the day after Williams' third boat, facing off against Tufts, Michigan A, Hobart, Wesleyan, and Michigan B. Michigan A (6:07.62) and Tufts (6:11.37) had strong races and finished with gold and silver. The real race was for bronze, and Williams (6:16.66 ) managed to sprint through Michigan B (6:17.48) to secure a podium finish. Seven seat Robin Lamb '23 explained, "We put together the race we'd been looking for all season, sprinted through Michigan for bronze, and I couldn't be prouder of this boat."

The final race with a Williams Men's Crew entry was the Open Four, racing Coast Guard, Michigan A, Tufts, Rochester A, and University of New Hampshire A. While Coast Guard (6:49.78), Michigan A (6:55.74), and Tufts (6:58.09) rowed to podium finishes, followed by Rochester A (6:58.34) and University of New Hampshire (7:12.46), the Williams four (7:24.66) put together a strong race that shows a lot of improvement from earlier in the season. Leo Margolies '26 summarized the day nicely, saying, "We went into the race excited to give it everything we had and we did exactly that. We rowed well and beat our own time from this morning."

With the end of NIRC, Williams Men's Crew races their last regatta before the second ever IRA Division III National Championship, where the first varsity eight will be racing for the second year in the row and the second varsity eight will race in the first ever 2V event. IRA Division III National Championships will be raced on June 3rd and 4th in Mercer, New Jersey.


WMC Lineups for NIRC, 5/12:

1V:
Cox- Isabelle Shah '24
8- Tad Montesano '23
7- Gus Nordmeyer '23
6- Trevor Eckler '24
5- Owen Maier '25
4- Nick Ambeliotis '23
3- Michael LesStrang '26
2- Collin Dent '23
1- Noah Phipps '25




2V:
Cox- Kevin Ryan '23
8- Ben Floyd '25
7- Ben Washburne '23
6- William Densmore '26 
5- Max Mallett '23.5
4- Nyamekye Akosah '25
3- Dalton Peters '26
2- Austin Connelly '25
1- Zola Baird '23




3V:
Cox- Carina Sun '26
8- Myer Liebman '26
7- Trent Boone '25
6- Elias Sienkiewicz '24
5- Louis Kabelka '24
4- Simon Socolow '26
3-Asher Rabinowitz '26
2- Theo Tellides '23
1- Logan McClennen '24




4V:
Cox- Casey Monteiro '24
8- Pablo Fox '25
7-  Robin Lamb '23
6- Salvador Robayo '23
5- Vaughn Sanders '26
4- Jay Thompson '26
3- Brij Howard-Sarin  '26
2-Graham Napack '26
1- Felix Diaz '26




5V:
Cox- Fiona Seibert '24
4- Ford Koles '25
3-Lucas LaGiglia '24
2- Charlie Maier '26
1- Leo Margolies '26