HARTFORD, Conn. – Williams' women's crew started its fall racing season off strong at the Head of the Riverfront Regatta on Sunday, bringing five varsity boats to Connecticut, including two eights and three fours.
The weather was calm and beautiful for the morning 8+ races, with a strong head current in the river and soon warming up to be a sweltering and wind-free afternoon in the 4+s. All five boats performed well in their respective categories, with notably the 1V 8+ finishing second overall and first in Division III, and one 4+ achieving the same.
In the Women's Open 8+ category, the 1V started first under bow number 159, coxed by Ariana Oppenheimer '26 with Lindsay Gadsden '27 in stroke seat, followed by Betsy Owens '28, Vivian Johnson '27, Carolyn Fortin '26, Madeleine Lasell '29, Claire McDonald '26, Anne Moghtader '29, and Audrey Riddle '26 in bow.
The crew started strong in the first 1000 meters, pulling away from the University of Connecticut and Trinity that followed in the staggered start head race-style, despite being called onto the course slightly early and having to restart their build up to pace. Beginning first, the Ephs had a view of their competition through the course and used that to their advantage, pushing off of the UConn 8+ that charged after them and widening the gap between them and the Trinity boat following behind.
The margins and competition were tight, and the crew finished 2nd out of 19 boats behind Division I team University of Connecticut, with a time of 13:30.062. They were the fastest Division III and NESCAC boat, with the next-fastest crew being Trinity finishing just .8 seconds later.
"We had an incredible start," stroke seat Gadsden said of the race. "We were gritty in the first half and went for it, which for our first race of the fall we have to be proud of. We definitely will be taking what we learned into next week's training, improving upon pushing hard into the second half and middle 2000 meters even when we are exhausted."
The 2V was next in the same Open 8+ category, with bow number 168. It was coxed by Ayanna Keshav '28 and stroked by Jordan Bose '29, followed by Molly McWeeny '27, Laela Clark '28, Grace McLaughlin '28, Catherine Farman-Farmaian '26, Caroline Ripsteen '29, Isolde Rayman-Moore '28, and Miranda Miller '29 in bow.
The crew also had a strong start and overall performance, having to work around other crews in passing and with tight margins. Ultimately, this was to their benefit as they finished 8th out of the 19 boat field with a time of 14:16.092.
"Our start was powerful," seven seat McWeeny said. "We settled into a sustainable and dynamic base rate early on. We had so many boats pushing off of us in the last 1000 meters, including UAlbany and the Lucky Charms masters' crew, so the finish was equally as exciting."
In the Women's Open 4+ category a few hours later, Williams had three entries. The first Williams boat to start, with bow number 579, was coxed by Katie Scott '26, with Lindsay Gadsden in stroke seat, followed by Carolyn Fortin, Anne Moghtader, and with Audrey Riddle in bow. This four outperformed many Division I boats, two of UConn's and both of UAlbany's. They finished second overall out of 20 crews with a time of 14:07.438.
The second Williams 4+ in the category was coxed by Ayanna Keshav, stroked by Vivian Johnson and followed by Claire McDonald, Molly McWeeny, and Jordan Bose in bow. This crew encountered many more boats through their race, and Keshav had to maneuver past two, including Vassar and Manhattan College. They finished 7th, in 14:44:452.
Finally, the third Williams 4+ to race was stroked by Catherine Farman-Farmaian, followed by Lily Clemens '28, Sheridan Hauser '28, and Alexa Hanson '26, coxed by Ariana Oppenheimer, with bow 593.
Bow seat Hanson said of the race: "We had a solid warmup that set the tone for the beginning of the race. We kept our momentum as boats challenged us, having to fight off some trying to pass, but we ended the race with some quality strokes." This four finished 17th, with a time of 15:54:96.
The Ephs compete next on Saturday, October 11, with the Varsity against Smith and UMass Amherst and the novices taking their first strokes against Vassar at home.
