Worcester, MA – "Williams [is] really showcasing the depth of their program today," the live stream commentator said of Williams Women's Crew's (WWC) performance at the Donahue Cup Regatta.
Williams First Varsity 8+ lined up at the start of Quinsigamond Lake at 8:30 a.m., with coxswain Katie Scott '26 and stroke seat Anna Owens '25, followed by Maya Tait '26, Ellie Davis '26, Isabel Mikheev '25, Lola Kovalski '25, Abby Murphy '25, Claire McDonald '26, and Ellie Iorio '25 and in bow. Though the 1V was racing for a spot in the grand final, the results of this race alone would also determine who would bring home the Barbara Grant Donahue Cup.
Williams brought the cup to Worcester from Williamstown after having won the same race last year, and they hoped to not return home empty-handed. "I really wanted to bring it back again," seven-seat Tait said. "I knew what we needed to do and I was confident, but obviously you always get nervous before a race."
As a cross-headwind blew steadily from starboard side, the 1V lined up in lane 1, next to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Simmons College, and Connecticut College. As soon as the announcer dropped the flag, the 1V shot off the start line.
The crew gained a decisive lead off of the start, and Scott chose to capitalize on this lead early in the race. "I wanted to keep the momentum from a strong start," Scott said. By 500 meters in, the 1V had open water on second-place WPI.
"They have a really strong program, and it looks like they are here to prove it," the announcer said.
Williams crossed the line with a time of 7:23.8, followed by WPI with a time of 7:38.7. By taking home first place in the first Varsity Eight race of the day, the 1V secured the Barbara Grant Donahue Cup and a spot in the grand final.
"I felt tired and satisfied with the results, but I was excited to race again because knew I had more to give for the second race," Kovalski said. "We were primed and ready."
The 2V raced next, coxed by Ariana Oppenheimer '26, with Courtney FitzMaurice '27 in stroke, followed by Audrey Riddle '26, Riley Galizio '24, Prairie Resch '25, Sophia Clavenna '27, Carolyn Fortin '26, Molly McWeeny '26, and Ava Rust '25 in bow.
At the start line, WPI, Clark University, Connecticut College, Mount Holyoke, and Washington College lined up to the left of Williams. "We were all really excited to get on the course and just go," stroke seat FitzMaurice said. "After a hard week of training we were ready to show everyone what Williams crew could do."
Once again, Williams wasted no time securing a decisive lead. The boat gained a few seats of open water on second-place WPI by 500 meters into the race. At the 1000-meter mark, the 2V heard the 1V cheering for them as they charged down the race course, leading the pack by a length and a half of open water.
"I felt very powerful," four-seat Clavenna said. "We talked beforehand about how we knew that the headwind was going to be heavy, but we decided that when it felt heavy, we were going to use our power to our advantage."
"We really put it out there and committed to doing a strong piece. Even when we didn't need to be sprinting as hard as we were, we were committed to putting our fulll effort into the race," Fitzmaurice said.
The 2V finished with a time of 7:23.09, just under 20 seconds ahead of second-place WPI securing the largest first-place margin out of all Williams boats.
The 3V faced the same lineup of competition next, with the exception of Mount Holyoke. Charis Woo '27 coxed the boat with Ella Potee '25 in stroke seat, followed by Catherine Farman-Farmaian '26, Vivian Johnson '27, Cora Birknes '27, Lindsay Gadsden '27, Annie Refermat '26, Olivia Thurman '27, and Arden Fluehr '25 in bow.
By the 500-meter mark, Williams had half a length of open water over the whole field. By the halfway mark, the crew widened their lead to two lengths of open water. "Williams is rowing long in this headwind," the commentator said during the third 500 meters of the race. "They seem to be unphased by their competitors."
"I felt like we were stronger this race than last weekend," Birknes said. We had a lot more composure. We kept our heads in the boat and pushed through tricky conditions and pulled out a win."
With a time of 7:42.63, Williams' 3V finished just under 15 seconds ahead of second-place WPI.
After just 25 minutes on land, the 1V launched off the dock to race in the grand final. The boat lined up alongside WPI, Clark University, Mount Holyoke College, Connecticut College, and Washington College. As the crew sat at the start line, the wind began picking up from starboard side and unexpected rain began to fall.
Following Scott's direction, two-seat McDonald was still adjusting the boat's point as the announcer called the start, delaying the crew's first impulse compared to the other crews. Still, the boat managed to emerge out of the first 200 meters as a leader in the pack, alongside Clark and with WPI following closely behind.
"We wanted to get the fastest time of the day and leave nothing in the tank," two-seat McDonald said.
The crew crossed the 500-meter mark with a six-seat lead on WPI, now in second place, and open water over the rest to the field. Halfway through the course, the Ephs gained half a length of open water. "Williams seems comfortable up in the lead, really putting the pedal to the metal," the commentator said.
Williams finished with a time of 7:11.87, just over 13 seconds ahead of second-place WPI, securing a first-place sweep of all women's races.
"I went into the weekend feeling confident," Assistant Coach Eileen Russell said, with agreement from head coach Paula Thoms. "Our crews have put up fast times on Lake Onota and I felt like if they executed like they do in practice it would be an exciting day for our team. It was awesome to see the team's excitement and pride coming off the water after such dominating wins."
For the second year in a row, WWC brought home the Barbara Grant Donahue Cup, which has been awarded to the winner of the regatta since 2000. "Whether you win or lose the cup you are a part of this history here," WPI's Head Women's Rowing Coach Jason Steele said at the award ceremony.
The cup's namesake, Barbara Grand Donahue, lives nearby the racecourse on Lake Quinsigamond. Steele spoke to the lessons that Barbara Donahue has brought to their rowing program. "The challenges we face in rowing encourage us to dream big," he said.
WWC has big dreams for the rest of their season. They race in Saratoga, NY next weekend at the Little Three Regatta.
