Worcester, MA: Women's crew traveled to Worcester for the second consecutive weekend to compete in the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta. This weekend's racing concluded the season for the Williams' Third Varsity Eight (3V). The NCAA selection show on Tuesday will determine whether the 1V and 2V will continue to train for the next two weeks and compete at nationals.
The (3V) lined up first, alongside Wellesley, Wesleyan, Bates, Coast Guard Acadamy, and Hobart and William Smith.
Charis Woo '27 coxed the boat, with
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 Ephs needed to finish in the top three to secure a place in the grand final.
Four hundred meters in, Williams gained a lead of one seat over second-place Wesleyan and two seats over third-place Wellesley. These three crews had an open water lead over the rest of the field by 700 meters in, and they vied for first, second, and third place, which would determine lane placements for the grand final.
Wellesley made a hard push and gained a lead in the third 500, and finished with a time of 7:27.347. Wesleyan pushed forward to second place in the last 500 and finished with a time of 7:30.513, followed by Williams with a time of 7:30.999.
The Williams Second Varsity Eight (2V) raced in their morning heat alongside Bates, Wellesley, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Rochester, and Mt. Holyoke.
Ariana Oppenheimer '26 coxed the boat, 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. The crew needed a top-two finish to advance to the grand final.
The Ephs wasted no time getting a dominant lead over the field. "Williams taking charge in the first 500 with open water," announcer Dan Robinson said. The Ephs rowed ahead of Bates, Wellesley, and WPI – all tied for second place. Williams finished with a time of 7:09.57 with an open water lead over the rest of the field – the fastest time across all heats.
After watching the 2V's impressive performance, Coxswain
Katie Scott '26 steered the Eph's First Varsity Eight (1V) to the start line for the final heat race of the day.
Anna Owens '25 sat in stroke seat, followed by
Maya Tait '26,
Ellie Davis '26,
Isabel Mikheev '25,
Lola Kovalski '25,
Abby Murphy '25,
Claire McDonald '26, and
Ellie Iorio '25 in bow. The 1V needed to finish first or second to race in the grand final. They faced Trinity, Coast Guard Academy, Hamilton, Skidmore, and Rochester.
Trinity gained an early lead of one seat over second-place Williams, who had a half-seat lead over third-place Hamilton. Williams made a move to gain a two-seat lead 500 meters into the race. Despite a push from Trinity with 500 meters to go, Williams held onto the lead to finish first with a time of 7:08.652, one second ahead of second-place Trinity.
After a successful morning of racing, all Williams crews secured places in their respective grand finals.
The Williams 3V lined up for their grand final alongside Smith, Hamilton, Wesleyan, Wellesley, and Tufts. The Ephs crew faltered off the start, but quickly worked their way back into the pack and were rowing in fourth behind Tufts, Hamilton, and Smith as the field crossed the first 500-meter mark.
In the middle thousand meters, Hamilton and Tufts rowed neck and neck for first, as Williams and Smith – both a boatlength off of the first two boats – rowed neck and neck for third. In the last 700 meters, Smith pushed into third. The Ephs crossed the line in fourth place with a time of 7:31.890, just over three seconds behind third-place Smith and just over 16 seconds behind fist-place Tufts.
"Although it wasn't the outcome we were hoping for, we had a great season and I'm proud of how we executed the middle thousand of our race together," three-seat Refermat said.
"It was a tough race but we put our all into it and I think regardless of the outcome we pushed our hardest and I am so proud of my boat," bow-seat Birknes said.
In the 2V grand final, the Ephs locked into the start line next to Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Wellesley, and Hamilton.
After placing second – three seconds behind first-place Tufts – at the New England Regional Championship Regatta the prior weekend, the 2V wanted to bring home gold. "We spent the past week focusing on starting the race aggressively," stroke-seat FitzMaurice said. "We knew we had the endurance to hold on to that so we came in confident that we could row our best race of the season."
Williams got a two-seat lead over second-place Tufts by the 500-meter mark. But the Jumbos held on, rowing only half a seat down 750 meters into a race. "First and second is really a dog fight," the announcer said. "Williams is giving Tufts absolutely everything they can handle."
Both crews rowed in lockstep, with open water over the rest of the field as they approached the 500-meter mark. With 350 meters to go, coxswain Oppenheimer called on her crew to sprint. "It was a lethal sprint," she said. "We turned it on." In the last few hundred meters, the Ephs gained a half a boat-length lead and crossed the line first with a time of 7:09.346, just over a second ahead of second-place Tufts.
The 1V lined up at the start for what would be an exceptionally-competitive race alongside Tufts, Trinity, Wesleyan, Smith, and Wellesley. Willimas got an early lead on the field, with a seat up on second-place Tufts at the 500-meter mark. Trinity and Wesleyan rowed just a few seats behind Tufts.
The Jumbos pushed ahead in the third 500 meters to gain a four-seat lead. "Williams really put in a brave charge early," the announcer said. In the last 500 meters, Trinity and Wesleyan took seats on Williams, and the three crews sprinted in a race for silver and bronze in the last 250 meters.
Williams finished in fourth with a time of 6:55.735. Wesleyan finished in third with a time of 6:55.527, behind second-place Trinity with a time of 6:55.249, and first-place Tufts with a time of 6:52.089.
The Ephs 1V and 2V finishes put the team in a good position to qualify for NCAAs, though the team will not if they will be traveling to Ohio for nationals until Tuesday.
