Pittsfield, Massachusetts – The Williams College Boathouse has officially opened! Hundreds of alumni, parents, coaches, and special guests gathered today at Lake Onota to christen the home of the Williams College Crew for generations to come. The state-of-the-art boathouse has two spacious boat bays, a coaches and coxswains office/work shed, a full set of restrooms, and a furnished living room for film review and team meetings – truly night and day from the previous building, a refurbished ice house from the 1920's.
The day started off early, with an alumni row of almost 100 people beginning at 7:30 am. Eights and fours swarmed Lake Onota as alums from the 1970's rowed alongside recent graduates in a special display of team camaraderie. As they say, the older the alums get, the better they were back in the day!
Following the alumni row, time was allotted to grab lunch before the big opening event. Everyone started to arrive again around 1 pm as the boathouse opened to friends of Williams Crew for tours. People from all generations walked through the posh team room and boat bays, munched on hors d'oeuvres, and mingled about during the once-in-a-lifetime event.
At 2 pm, the official ceremonies began, with remarks from Athletic Director Lisa Melendy, Williams President Maud Mandel, Women's Coach
Paula Thoms,
Abby Murphy '25, Men's Coach
Marc Mandel,
Brij Howard-Sarin '26, and Scott Schweighauser '83. The speeches were all well-received and contained similar themes of grit, hard work, and love for teammates.
After the speeches, a women's eight was dedicated to Olympian Nancy Storrs '73 for her excellence and legacy. A men's coxed four was also named for Paralympic Silver Medalist Ben Washburne '23 before the ceremony. Lastly, the boathouse officially opened with a ribbon cutting from
Isabel Mikheev '25 and
Nyamekye Akosah '25
An extremely special day is in the books, and it would not have been possible without the support of the greater Williams and Berkshire County family! Williams Crew sincerely thanks everyone, go Ephs!
