WORCESTER, MA—It was a warm and sunny day on Lake Quinsigamond as Williams traveled to compete in the New England Rowing Championships. There was a strong tailwind that followed the crews down the course, making for a day of fast racing. Williams brought 4 eights and a four to compete in these exciting championship races.
The 4+ raced their heat was coxed by Ariana Oppenheimer and stroked by Catherine Farman-Farmaian and followed by Alexa Hanson, Maddy Andersen and Ana Wever in bow seat. The boat raced University of Rhode Island, Bates, University of New Hampshire and Merrimack in this heat. The boat had a powerful start as all crews were fairly even off the line, and Williams took a move over the 500-meter mark to stay competitive with the field. URI and Bates moved ahead first, and UNH was able to push past Williams by 750 meters to go. Williams kept their momentum into an effective sprint to finish with a time of 8:16.6, 14 seconds off UNH's time of 8:02.6.
The Williams 4+ raced Middlebury, Vermont and Merrimack in the Petite Final in the early afternoon. Williams built off the effective start they had in their first race to get ahead of the pack within the first 250 meters. Williams built on this lead through the first half off the race, taking seat after seat to gain open water by the 1000 meter mark. Williams kept pushing off Middlebury's bow ball in the third 500 and then showed off a strong sprint in their last race of the season. Williams crossed the line first with a time of 8:07.2, 7 seconds ahead of Middlebury's time of 8:14.9. 3 seat Alexa Hanson shared, "We came out of our first race knowing we had more to give and using specific goals we were able to refocus and sharpen our game to race a strong and confident final."
The 3V raced second in their heat, coxed by Katie Scott and stroked by Molly McWeeny, followed by Carolyn Fortin, Emma Caruso, Claire McDonald, Arden Fluehr, Mia Kabillio, Isabelle Zollinger and Ella Potee in bow seat. The boat raced Tufts, Wesleyan, Trinity, Bowdoin, Connecticut College and Mount Holyoke in this first race. The crews were even at the start as Williams put down an effective starting sequence, and Tufts pulled ahead of the pack 300 meters in. Williams maintained contact with Tufts through the first half of the race, and Williams and Wesleyan fought for second all the way down the course as they pushed ahead of the other crews. Williams was a seat down on Wesleyan over halfway but took a strong move over the 1000-meter mark to get back even by 500 meters to go. Williams fought stroke for stroke with Wesleyan through the sprint and finished in second with a time of 7:10.1, 8 seconds behind Tufts time of 7:02.8.
The 3V moved on to the Grand Final to race Tufts, Bates, Smith, Wellesley and Wesleyan. The first 500 meters of this final were very tight and competitive as the boats remained within a seat apart through the start. Tufts and Bates jumped ahead of the pack early on, and Williams fought next to Smith, Wellesley and Wesleyan through the halfway point. By 1000 meters in, Williams was down roughly a length on Wellesley but a few seats up on Wesleyan. Williams pushed forcefully through the third 500 to maintain contact with Wellesley but they lost some speed in the sprint to the line as Wellesley walked away. The boat crossed the line in 5th with a time of 7:12.4, 7 seconds off Wellesley's time of 7:05.4. 6 seat Emma Caruso reflected that "The 3V came out strong, finishing second in our heat defeating Wesleyan (a strong competitor), and making it to the grand finals. We raced well, together, and had a great day with our supportive teammates."
The 2V raced next, coxed by Sarah Gantt and stroked by Ava Rust, followed by Riley Galizio, Anna Owens, Ellie Iorio, Audrey Riddle, Abby Murphy, Marie Brewer and Madeleine Horn in bow seat. The boat raced Wellesley, Holy Cross, Middlebury and Mount Holyoke in this heat. Williams had a shaky start and was behind the other crews in the first 200 meters, but they executed an effective settle and found their rhythm after the starting sequence. Williams jumped back up to Wellesley and Holy Cross by 400 meters in and kept pushing through the first half of the race. Wellesley walked ahead, but Williams and Holy Cross fought bow ball to bow ball through halfway point. Williams walked up 4 seats on Holy Cross in the third 500 and held this strong momentum to the sprint, but Holy Cross jumped up in the sprint and gained a lead in the last 10 strokes. Williams finished in third with a time of 6:56.5, .5 seconds off Holy Cross' time of 6:56.0.
The 2V raced Smith, WPI, Bowdoin, Trinity and Middlebury in the Petite Final. The boats were all close off the start, as Williams fought closely with Smith and WPI. Williams took a forceful move over the 500-meter mark, and walked a seat ahead of Smith and WPI by 700 meters in. Williams maintained this margin over the halfway point as they took a focus 10 strokes on rhythm and composure. Williams walked ahead with 750 meters to go, gaining seats through the sprint with their bow ball out front. Williams finished first with a time of 6:59.9, 4 seconds ahead of Smith's time of 7:03.5. Coxswain and senior Sarah Gantt shared that "During our heat, we got flustered in the sprint and lost by 0.5 seconds, but in the petite final, we pulled it together and stayed calm to take home the win."
The 1V raced next against Wellesley, Smith, Vermont, Trinity and Colby in their heat. The boat was 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 had quick start that put them in 2nd place off the line, close to Wellesley and ahead of Smith. Williams had a fast first 500 meters, gaining a boat length up on Smith and holding Wellesley's speed. Wellesley began to walk away from Williams at 750 meters in and gained a boat length lead over halfway. Williams took a focus 10 strokes over halfway to recommit to their rhythm and stride. Smith began to walk back on Williams with 700 meters to go, as Wellesley gained open water. Williams kept a lead on Smith until the last 200 meters, as Smith sprinted forcefully, taking a seat every stroke for 5 strokes. Williams finished in third with a time of 6:43.49, .1 off Smith's time of 6:43.36.
The 1V raced Holy Cross, Wesleyan, Coast Guard, Bowdoin and Vermont in the Petite Final. The boat jumped off the start next to Holy Cross and Wesleyan, and the 3 crews had a distinctive lead on the others by 300 meters in. Williams was down on Wesleyan off the start and up a seat on Holy Cross, and Williams settled into their rhythm confidently to get even with Wesleyan over the 700-meter mark. Williams gained a boat length up on Holy Cross and pulled away from Wesleyan as they took a power 10 across the halfway and kept these margins as they crews neared 500 meters to go. Holy Cross took back a few seats around 400 meters to the line, but Williams defended their lead through the sprint. Williams finished first with a time of 6:44.3, 2 seconds faster than Holy Cross's time of 6:46.9. Their time was the third fastest women's 1V final time of the day, an exciting progression in margins from their morning race. Julia Lim shared,"We had a tough race in the heats, struggling to find our usual pace and ultimately fell short at the finish line. However, we had a very productive time in between races and used it introspectively to learn more about ourselves and our boat. We went into the final confident and set a calm and effective rhythm right off the start. Throughout the race, we focused on keeping it internal which ultimately lead to a very clean and powerful piece. I think today was a big day for our boat development and we are excited to go into NIRCs with the trust that fueled our second race today."
The 4V raced Tufts and Smith in the Grand Final, coxed by 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. Williams had a composed starting sequence as Tufts and Smith jumped a few seats ahead. Williams maintained contact with the two other crews until the 500-meter mark, but they kept their focus internal and determined. The boat took a big move at the 1000-meter mark to keep pushing through the third 500 meters. Williams started their sprint with 300 meters to go and dropped splits every 5 strokes until they crossed the finish line with a time of 7:38.4, 22 seconds off Smith's time of 7:16.7. Williams was 15 seconds closer to Tufts this weekend than they were last weekend, demonstrating exciting progress for the boat. 4 seat Annie Refermat explained that "we set goals for today: be consistent with power and effort, PR as a boat, and have fun. We achieved them! Although we would have preferred to win, we had a great time racing and are proud of what we put together today."
Eph's Head Coach Paula Thoms reflected that "it was an honor to coach at my first New England Rowing Championship. I was impressed by the deep field and tight margins in almost all of the races. This helped our team learn valuable lessons about themselves as racers and teammates. I am confident those lessons will fuel our week of training and the opportunity to compete again next Friday at the NIRC/NESCAC Conference Championship. Go Ephs!"
Williams had a day of competitive and exciting races. The crew left with a lot learned in each boat, and they are eager to build on this gained experience over the next few practices. WWC will be back in Worcester on Friday to race in the National Invitational Championship Regatta.
