Men's Crew: 1st and 2nd Eights Earn Silver at NIRC/NESCAC Championship and Qualify for IRA National Championship

Worcester, Massachusetts - This weekend, the Ephs made their final trip of the season to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. for the National Invitational Collegiate Rowing Championships, where they competed against teams from all over New England in a full day regatta. The 2000 meter races were all rowed under calm conditions with minimal wind.
 
The first race of the day for the Ephs was the Open Four's heat, with the top three finishers moving on to the Grand Final. Williams placed third in the race, good enough to move on to the Grand. The finish order was Iona (7:15.361), Rochester (7:19.673) Williams (7:28.719), and UNH (7:32.511).
 
Up next for Williams was the Third Eight's heat, where the Ephs' third place finish would qualify them for the Grand Final. Tufts crossed the line first (6:22.507), followed by Hobart (6:24.051), Wiliams (6:26.509), Marist (6:43.812), and UNH (7:29.078).
 
The Ephs' next race was the Second Eight's heat, again with the top three finishers moving on to the Grand Final. Williams got their bid to the Grand Final by finishing first (6:12.343). They were followed by Trinity (6:17.027), WPI (6:19.533), Colby (6:31.697), and Conn College (7:22.499).
 
The last race of the morning was the First Eight's heat, this time with only the top two finishers moving on to the Grand Final. MIT crossed the line first (6:07.719). They were followed by Williams (6:12.755), Coast Guard (6:18.523), Marist (6:23.925), and Skidmore (6:44.419). Williams' second place finish moved them on to the Grand Final.
 
After the morning's racing was over, Williams had to make substitutions due to illness that would affect all five boats. Unfortunately, these substitutions would prevent the Open Four from competing in the Grand Final despite a strong showing in the morning. 2 seat Kyle Gwilt '25 had this to say about the situation: "While we are devastated by the end of our day, we are simultaneously infinitely proud of how the first race went. We advanced through a challenging heat and were certain there was plenty more speed to be found. I'm personally walking away with my head held high."
 
The Fourth Eight event (straight to final) was the first race of the afternoon for Williams, where the Ephs finished 4^th. Tufts A won the final with a time of 6:21.875. They were followed by Trinity (6:26.507), Wesleyan (6:26.639), Williams (6:29.623), Tufts B (6:30.503), and Hobart (6:32.448). 2 seat Mihr Mehrzad '26 had this to say about the race: "Despite the last minute changes in our lineup, we remained composed throughout the race and tenaciously attacked our race strategy. We are all happy about how our race went, knowing we gave it all we had. Special shout out to our coxswain Casey for the last race of her Williams career. She has been an incredible force and positive spirit on the team, and we are so grateful to have had her as our coxswain."
 
The Third Eight Grand Final was up next for the Ephs, where they finished 6th. Tufts (6:22.013) came in first place. Following was Bates (6:24.277), Hobart (6:24.330), Trinity (6:27.787) Wesleyan (6:32.597), and Williams (6:41.270). 7 seat Logan McClennen '24 was proud of his crew's efforts, saying: "We had some of our best rowing today in the morning heats, and while things may not have panned out in the afternoon, I love this crew and I'm honored to have been able to race with them. Even though the results weren't what we wanted, I'm immensely proud all the hard work we've done together this season."
 
The Second Eight Grand Final, where Williams placed 2^nd, again saw Tufts (6:10.592) crossing the line first. Following was Williams (6:10.972), Wesleyan (6:19.200), Trinty (6:21.038), Hobart (6:24.418), and Marist (6:25.966). 6 seat Nyamekye Akosah '25 was pleased with his crew's performance, saying: "We've really learned to roll with the punches this season and our ability to adapt really showed itself off today. Even though we had a last minute change, we still were able to row a pretty phenomenal race."
 
The last race of the day for Williams was the First Eight Grand Final, where they finished 2nd. Wesleyan (5:56.713) took home the gold medal. They were closely followed by Williams (5:57.741), MIT (5:57.911), Trinity (6:02.023), Tufts (6:03.521), and Bates (6:04.801). 4 seat Jack Wagner '27 was pleased with the result, saying: "Today's race was a really tough battle, but we put it all out there. I'm so proud of my teammates and excited for the weeks of training to come." The First Eight's finish qualified Williams for the IRA National Championship. 
 
Eph assistant coach Patrick Dent summed up the regatta, saying: "Today was a long day filled with highs and lows, but I couldn't be more proud of how the team handled themselves through it all. I'm proud of how they were able to perform as athletes, but I'm far more proud of how they handled themselves as teammates. Far beyond the fantastic racing today, the team came together and accomplished something truly special."
 
The Ephs will now begin preparation for the IRA National Championships.
 
WMC Lineups
 
First Eight
 
Cox - Isabelle Shah '24
8 - Noah Phipps '25
7 – William Densmore '26
6 - Owen Maier '25
5 – Trevor Eckler '24
4 – Jack Wagner '27
3 – Michael LesStrang '26
2 – Quinn Carroll '27
1 – Elias Sienkiewicz '24
 
Second Eight
 
Cox - Carina Sun '26
8 – Myer Liebman '26
7 - James Johnson-Brown '25
6 – Nyamekye Akosah '25
5 – Dalton Peters '26
4 – Simon Socolow '26
3 – Ben Floyd '25
2 - Chris Pohlmann '27
1 – Trent Boone '25
 
Third Eight
 
Cox - Christina Zhang '27
8 – Pablo Fox '25
7 – Logan McClennen '24
6 – Alden Rolfe '24
5 – Alden Knox Weaver '27
4 – Ford Koles '25
3 – Asher Rabinowitz '26
2 – Blaz Vavpetic '27
1 – Zach Cantrell '27
 
Fourth Eight
 
Cox - Casey Monteiro '24
8 – Graham Napack '26
7 - Vaughn Sanders '26
6 – Charlie Maier '26
5 – Brij Howard-Sarin '26
4 – Jay Thompson '26
3 – Neel Verma '27
2 – Mihr Mehrzad '26
1 - Felix Diaz '26
 
Open Four
 
Cox - Fiona Seibert '24
4 - Jay Thompson '26
3 - Charlie Halverson '26
2 - Kyle Gwilt '25
1 - Arjun Talwar '26