Second Eight Highlights Racing on Onota Lake

Pittsfield, MA - This weekend, the Ephs hosted their only home regatta of the season, where they competed against MIT Lightweights, Tufts, and Hamilton in a morning of exciting 2000 meter races. Lake Onota brought great conditions for race day: 50 degree weather, flat water, and a slight tailwind.
 
The first race of the morning was the fourth eight event, which had Williams competing against the Tufts fourth and fifth boats. Tufts 4V crossed the finish line first (6:27.02), followed by Tufts 5V (6:34.2) and Williams (6:34.62). 5 seat Charlie Halverson '26 thought that his crew did a good job of staying internally focused, saying: "The lineup has never felt better, and we rowed our own race. We're looking forward to what the rest of the season has to bring."
 
Next up for the Ephs were the first eights. MIT Lightweights put down the fastest time of the day, going 5:59.05. They were followed by Tufts (6:01.09), Williams (6:02.64), and Hamilton (6:26.39). 4 seat Dalton Peters '26 reflected on his crew's performance, saying: "I thought we put together a good race today, but I also think we're all eager to get back to practice and continue working."
 
Following were the second eights, with a solid win for Williams (6:04.02). They were trailed by Tufts (6:08.23), MIT Lightweights (6:25.37), and Hamilton (6:58.94). Stroke seat Elias Sienkiewicz '24 was pleased with the race, saying: "I was really proud of the trust we had in each other to be able to come back from behind to win. The crew responded really well to our race plan and showed great composure under pressure."

Up next was the third eight event, featuring only Williams and Tufts. The Jumbos (6:11.01) were able to prevail in the dual race despite a good fight from the Ephs (6:17.98). 4 seat Asher Rabinowitz '26 saw potential from his crew's race today, saying: "The race started off well, but Tufts had us in the second thousand. We're looking forward to a productive week of practice before we see them again next weekend."
 
The last race of the day was a fleet of Eph coxed fours up against the Tufts Women's fifth eight. Williams A was the fastest of the bunch (7:13.04), followed by Williams B (7:13.96), Tufts (7:38.08), and Williams C (7:46.15). Brij Howard-Sarin '26 was happy with the fours race, saying: "I thought it went well; the conditions were amazing, and I was proud of how we executed our race plan. I thought Gautam did a great job for his first ever race. Also, the two other fours were in a really close race (0.98 second margin) and rowed well for having so little time in between their two races. Ellia did an excellent job in her first race too."

After a full morning of racing, Eph head coach Marc Mandel had this to say: "We could not have asked for better conditions for our first and only home race of the season, and being able to row from the new Williams College Boathouse created a special atmosphere.  All of our crews continue to progress, and more than anything, the racing provides the best feedback possible for the direction forward. I know we are all excited to continue to develop over the weeks ahead."
 
Next weekend the Ephs will travel to Worcester, Massachusetts for the New England Rowing Championships.
 
WMC Lineups
 
First Eight (1V)
 
Cox - Isabelle Shah '24
8 - Noah Phipps '25
7 – Myer Liebman '26
6 - Owen Maier '25
5 – William Densmore '26
4 – Dalton Peters '26
3 - Trevor Eckler '24
2 - Ben Floyd '25
1 – Michael LesStrang '26
 
Second Eight (2V)
 
Cox - Carina Sun '26
8 – Elias Sienkiewicz '24
7 - James Johnson-Brown '25
6 - Austin Connelly '25
5 – Jack Wagner '27
4 – Nyamekye Akosah '25
3 - Quinn Carroll '27
2 - Chris Pohlmann '27
1 – Trent Boone '25
 
Third Eight (3V)
 
Cox - Christina Zhang '27
8 - Alden Knox Weaver '27
7 – Pablo Fox '25
6 – Logan McClennen '24
5 – Alden Rolfe '27
4 - Asher Rabinowitz '26
3 – Simon Socolow '26
2 - Zach Cantrell '27
1 - Blaz Vavpetic '27
 
Fourth Eight (4V)
 
Cox - Casey Monteiro '24
8 – Graham Napack '26
7 - Vaughn Sanders '26
6 - Charlie Maier '26
5 - Charlie Halverson '26
4 – Jay Thompson '26
3 – Neel Verma '27
2 - Mihr Mehrzad '26
1 - Felix Diaz '26
 
Fours
 
A
 
Casey Monteiro '24
Graham Napack '26
Charlie Halverson '26
Charlie Maier '26
Felix Diaz '26
 
B
 
Ellia Chiang '25
Mihr Mehrzad '26
Vaughn Sanders '26
Jay Thompson '26
Neel Verma '27
 
C
 
Gautam Ramasamy '26
Brij Howard-Sarin '26
Kyle Gwilt '26
Arjun Talwar '26
Leo Margolies '26