Pittsfield, MA – Women's Crew raced in its only home regatta of the year to finish the team's regular season.
The Williams 4+ – with
Sohani Curtis '27 coxing, Stroke Seat
Brenda Jaroker '25, three-seat
Alexa Hanson '26, two-seat
Maddy Andersen '25, and bow
Charlotte Ragozin '27 – lined up first at the start line on the south-west side of Lake Onota next to Hamilton.
The Ephs and the Continentals were even off the start, but the Ephs soon took the lead. "We came out through the start and we were holding onto a higher rate," Hanson said. "We were trusting our Williams stroke and pushing through each power move."
The 4+ kept Hamilton well behind their stern down the 2k course, and crossed the finish line with a time of 8:22.61, followed by Hamilton with a time of 8:31.32.
The 1V rowed up to the start next, with coxswain
Ariana Oppenheimer '26, 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,
Ellie Iorio '25 and in bow. Hamilton and Tufts lined up in lanes to the crew's left.
Roughly 500 meters into the race, Tufts had two seats up on Williams, who had half a boat length up on Hamilton. These margins grew wider throughout the race. By the halfway point, Tufts had an open water lead on Williams, who had an open water lead on Hamilton.
Tufts finished with a time of 6:53.59, followed by Williams with a time of 7:04.53 and Hamilton with a time of 7:20.78.
"Our race was collected and strong," bow-seat Iorio said. "I'm excited to bring some more competitive intensity to our races in the future so that we can take Tufts down."
Coxswain
Katie Scott '26 steered the Williams 2V to the start line next, alongside the Tufts and Hamilton 2Vs.
Courtney FitzMaurice '27 sat 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.
The Jumbos got ahead at the start, but by 400 meters into the race, the Ephs pushed ahead by a seat, with an open water lead on the Continentals that they would maintain throughout the race. Tufts and Williams rowed side by side down the course. 800 meters in, Williams widened their lead to two seats.
The boat's decisive move came just over the halfway mark, when coxswain Scott called a move for the team's only senior, six-seat Galizio. "That move gave us a half a length lead," Scott said.
As the boats approached the crowd of spectators at the finish line, Tufts still had overlap on Williams' stern. The Jumbos started their spring early, cutting the Ephs' lead to only a seat. The race came down to the last 10 strokes. The crew dropped their pace by three split seconds and held Tufts off as they crossed the finish line.
"I feel like that was the best race of my life," bow-seat Rust said. "I'm so happy we executed a sprint well. We've been doing it all week but doing it in the race is where it counts."
The crew crossed the line with a time of 7:00.63, followed by Tufts with a time of 7:01.71, and Hamilton with a time of 7:16.43.
Williams 3V raced last, with
Charis Woo '27 in the coxswain seat,
Arden Fluehr '25 in stroke seat, followed by
Ella Potee '25,
Vivian Johnson '27,
Catherine Farman-Farmaian '26,
Lindsay Gadsden '27,
Annie Refermat '26,
Olivia Thurman '27, and
Cora Birknes '27 in bow. The boat lined up next to Hamilton's 3V, Tuft's 3V, and Tuft's 4V.
All boats jumped off the start line together, but within the first few hundred meters Tufts and Hamiltons' 3Vs walked ahead to an early lead.
Tuft's 3V finished with a time of 7:02.98, followed by Hamilton's 3V with a time of 7:07.72, Tuft's 4V with a time of 7:09.44, and William's 3V with a time of 7:13.09.
"We executed a lot of the things we were working on this week," stroke-seat Fluehr said. "We stuck together." Fluehr is excited for the opportunity to fight back with her boat next weekend, she said.
"Conference racing always promises tight, competitive racing, and all four boats got a chance to feel that pressure and respond," assistant coach
Eileen Russell said. "I'm proud of the way the team came off the water regardless of result. Everyone is hungry for more."
Next weekend, Williams Women's Crew will travel to Worcester to race in the New England Regional Championship.
