Men's Crew Wins Little Three Championships VS. Wesleyan

Pittsfield, MA - This Saturday, the Ephs hosted the 56^th Annual Little Three Championship Regatta, where they faced off against Wesleyan, the defending national champions. In a morning of intense 2000 meter duals, both teams fought hard and posted strong results across the board, with Williams winning the first, second, and fourth eight races. By winning the first eight contest, Williams won the Little Three Championship and secured the coveted Saratoga Oar trophy.
 
The race day conditions were solid on Lake Onota. Although the last 1500 meters of the course were choppy, the regatta featured warm temperatures and a tailwind.
 
The Eph fourth eight kicked off the day's racing against Wesleyan. The two crews battled the entire way, with Williams (6:17.6) edging the Wesleyan boat (6:18.8) by about a second. Bow seat Vaughn Sanders '26 was pleased with his crew's composure, saying: "I think we generally raced well today. There are a few technical cues we will certainly be honing in on in the coming weeks, but the entire boat demonstrated our ability to be resilient through less than favorable conditions. Overall, very proud of the work we have been putting in thus far and excited to see the coming weeks unfold."
 
The Williams first eight was next, and they continued to set the tone. The Ephs walked throughout the race and clocked a time of 5:52.2, well ahead of Wesleyan's 5:59.2. Five seat Owen Maier '25 reflected on the dual, saying: "With such a great rivalry over the last couple years, I think both boats were anxious to see who'd take this race. Our boat rowed with poise and professionalism, never getting frantic, and slowly walked away. We're excited to keep our foot on the gas and build off this effort as there is plenty of season left."
 
Following was the second eight, in which Williams won a tight contest over Wesleyan. The Ephs slowly built their lead throughout the race and finished about a boat length up, going 5:58.6 compared to Wesleyan's 6:00.6. Bow seat Ben Floyd '25 was proud of his crew's tenacity, saying: "We had a strong start, but Wesleyan managed to hold on. We stuck to our race plan and executed well which allowed us to come out on top."
 
The third eight's dual against Wesleyan came next, where the Cardinals came out on top. Despite a strong effort from the Ephs, Wesleyan clocked 6:06.4 versus Williams' 6:11.8. Three seat Ford Koles '25 reflected on the piece, saying: "There are certainly things we need to work on as a crew, but it was a good race and we gave it our all."
 
Last up for the Ephs was an intra squad race between three coxed fours. Every crew had a strong showing, and the "A" entry won with a time of 6:58.6. "B" (7:03.0) and "C" (7:07.2) were close behind, showing strong depth. "C" bow seat Henry Hilton '28 thought his crew showed improvement from prior races, saying: "Our boat felt much stronger and less frantic than when we raced this course last Sunday. It was really great to be back with this lineup and to race the 4v split into fours. We had a really fast start but weren't able to pull back the lead the other fours got on us."
 
Eph head coach Marc Mandel was pleased with the day's efforts from all crews, saying: "It has been a rough few weeks weather-wise with snow, rain, wind and everything in between. I've been proud of how we've taken it all in stride and made the best of the conditions during practices, which I think paid off today."
 
Williams is racing Tufts at home next Saturday (4/26). Come out and support the Ephs if you are in the area!
 
WMC Lineups
 
First Eight (1V)
 
Cox - Christina Zhang '27
8 - William Densmore '26
7 - Noah Phipps '25
6 - Justin Schoenfarber '28
5 - Owen Maier '25
4 - Michael LesStrang '26
3 - Jack Wagner '27
2 - Kyle McHugh '28
1 - Quinn Carroll '27
 
Second Eight (2V)
 
Cox - Carina Sun '26
8 - Myer Liebman '26
7 - Trent Boone '25
6 - Austin Connelly '25
5 - Luke Guleserian '28
4 - Dalton Peters '26
3 - Aidan Spellacy-Urken '28
2 - Chris Pohlmann '27
1 - Ben Floyd '25
 
Third Eight (3V)
 
Cox - Ellia Chiang '25
8 - James Johnson-Brown '25
7 - Jack Archer '28
6 - Charlie Halverson '26
5 - Nyamekye Akosah '25
4 - Brij Howard-Sarin '26
3 - Ford Koles '25
2 - Neel Verma '27
1 - Blaz Vavpetic '27
 
Fourth Eight (4V)
 
Cox - Kipp Kaplan '28
8 - Pablo Fox '25
7 - Asher Rabinowitz '26
6 - Graham Napack '26
5 - Alden Knox Weaver '27
4 - Charlie Maier '26
3 - Hallsey Souder '28
2 - Mihr Mehrzad '26
1 - Vaughn Sanders '26
 
Fours
 
A
Cox - Emma Cilke '28
4- Pablo Fox '25
3 - Hallsey Souder '28
2 - Graham Napack '26
1 - Asher Rabinowitz '26
 
B
Cox - Holly Miller '28
4 - Alden Knox Weaver '27
3 - Charlie Maier '26
2 - Vaughn Sanders '26
1 - Felix Diaz '26
 
C
Cox - Georgia Badenhope '28
4 - Zach Cantrell '27
3 - Alex Farman-Farmaian '28
2 - Andrew Kurgan '28
1 - Henry Hilton '28