CAMDEN, NJ—The weather was humid today on the Cooper River as Williams had their first day of races at NCAA Nationals. The 1V and the 2V both raced in heats in the morning, and the 1V also raced in the repechages in the afternoon. Both boats advanced to the Grand Finals, which will take place tomorrow morning.
The 2V raced their heat first at 10:12. The boat is coxed by
Sarah Gantt and stroked by
Riley Galizio, followed by
Anna Owens,
Ellie Iorio,
Marie Brewer,
Abby Murphy,
Audrey Riddle,
Isabelle Zollinger and
Ava Rust in bow seat. Williams raced Wellesley, Wesleyan and Washington College, with top 2 advancing straight to the Grand Final. The boat was ahead of Washington College but 2 seats down on Wesleyan and Wellesley off the start, yet they settled in to find their effective rhythm and steadily walked back this margin. Williams was bow to stern with Wesleyan at 500 meters in, and Williams and Wellesley remained tight through the middle 1000 meters of the race. Williams took an intentional move over the 1000-meter mark and was up on Wellesley with 750 meters to go. Wellesley began their sprint ahead of Williams and was able to walk through them in the last 300 meters of the race. Williams ended with a time of 7:21.1, 2 seconds behind Wellesley and 4 seconds ahead of Wesleyan. 7 seat
Anna Owens shared that "this was one of our best races mentally. We came off the starting line with the attitude that we wanted to win in the first 1k instead of waiting for the second thousand. It was one of our best races yet."
The 1V raced their heat next at 8:36. The boat is coxed by
Julia Lim and stroked by
Maya Tait, followed by
Emily Hugo,
Erin Barry,
Isabel Mikheev,
Ellie Davis,
Ella Napack,
Prairie Resch and
Gabby Fazzalari in bow seat. Williams raced Wesleyan, Tufts and Washington College, with top 2 advancing straight to the Grand Final. Williams had a strong start that put them ahead of the other crews, but Wesleyan and Tufts began to walk on Williams at 200 meters in. Williams was down bow to stern on both boats by 500 meters in and carried this margin into the 1000-meter mark. Williams took a move over the halfway to refocus on a relaxed and strong drive and began to walk back on Tufts. Williams gained 3 seats on Tufts in the third 500, but then Tufts was able to walk away to finish bow to stern on Williams across the line. Williams ended with a time of 7:15, 4 seconds behind Tufts and 8 seconds behind Wesleyan. The boat finished in third, moving to the repechages in the afternoon.
The 1V raced Bates, Lewis and Clark and Washington College at 4. Williams had a forceful first 250 meters that pushed them ahead of the pack. Williams and Bates had open water on the other crews by the 300-meter mark, and they increased this lead throughout the race. Williams took a move over the 400-meter mark and pushed ahead of Bates and kept walking on them through the second 500 meters of the race. Williams had bow to stern with Bates around 800 meters in and maintained this lead through the remainder of the race. Williams began their sprint with 400 meters to the line and increased the rate with an effective impulse and sequence together. Williams crossed the line in first with a time of 7:16.1, 4 seconds ahead of Bates' time of 7:20.7. 4 seat
Ellie Davis shared that "The opportunity to row at this level surrounded by this amount of talent and speed is inspiring. We had a rocky first race this morning that caused us to have to race in the Repechage to get into the finals, but it was good to get another opportunity to race as a team and feel more solidified in our stroke. We are all excited to put everything we have worked for this year out on the water tomorrow."
Tomorrow will be an exciting race day as both Williams boats advanced to the Grand Final. The 2V is racing at 10:48 and the 1V is at 11:36. The team is eager to put down a fast last race of what has been an incredibly successful season.
