Men’s crew opens season at Head of the Housatonic

SHELTON, Conn. - The Williams College men's crew traveled south to Connecticut to compete at the Head of the Housatonic for their first race of the fall season. The weather on the 4,200 meter course was fantastic, featuring calm conditions and cool temperatures. Williams fielded eight crews at the regatta, and the team saw success across all entries among strong D1 competition.

The First Eight started off the morning for the Ephs in the (IRA) HVA Cup event. Williams finished with a time of 13:14.200, coming in 10th out of 15 entries. Brown won the event, clocking 12:32.012.

The Second, Third, and Fourth Eights competed next in the Director's Cup event. The Williams Second Eight finished fourth with a time of 13:54.762, the Fourth Eight finished seventh with a time of 14:09.858, and the Third Eight finished eighth with a time of 14:16.986, all out of 23 entries. Lehigh won with a time of 13:28.140.

After a break in the day's racing, Williams sent out a First, Second, and Third Four to compete in the Open Four event. The Ephs First Four placed sixth (15:28.114), the Second Four placed eighth (15:34.958), and the Third Four placed 10th (15:43.913). Yale won the 18 entry event, clocking 14:32.617.

The last race of the day for Williams was the Novice Four event. The Eph novices had a strong debut, placing second out of three entries with a time of 18:27.041. The University of Connecticut won with a time of 18:04.266.

"The coaching staff is very pleased with how all of the crews rowed today," said Assistant Coach Patrick Dent about the day. "This fall we have really doubled down on a development mindset, so race prep took a back seat for the most part. Despite this, the Williams crews were poised and fast going down the course.

"At all levels of the program we saw high-quality rowing, both in terms of technique and fitness, that we are excited to continue building upon. Special praise is warranted for our Novice 4+, which featured four rowers who have only learned to row in the last 3 weeks or so and were able to secure a second place finish in their event."

Williams races next Sunday at the Head of the Charles Regatta, with alums and families encouraged to come out to cheer the Ephs on. A livestream will also be available on YouTube.

First Eight

C - Carina Sun '26

S - Kyle McHugh '28

7 - Quinn Carroll '27

6 - William Densmore '26

5 - Jack Archer '28

4 - Dalton Peters '26

3 - Jack Wagner '27

2 - Myer Liebman '26

B - Aidan Spellacy-Urken '28

Second Eight

C - Emma Cilke '28