Men's Crew Opens Spring Season at Ithaca Rowing Inlet Invite

Ithaca, NY- This weekend, the Ephs traveled west to open their season in a series of races at the Ithaca Rowing Inlet Invite. Williams faced both new and familiar opponents, competing against Marietta College, Ithaca College, the University of Rochester, and the Rochester Institute of Technology in an afternoon of exciting 2000 meter races. It was a breezy day on the Cayuga Inlet, and despite variable gusts, the tailwind blowing over the water made for fast race day conditions.

The Eph first eight competed in two races. The opening race of the day was a dual with Marietta. Williams had a fast race, crossing the finish line first with a time of 5:57.0. Marietta went 6:06.2. The first eight's second race was against Ithaca, which the Ephs also won, putting down a time of 5:51.43. Ithaca's time was 6:05.30. 5 seat Owen Maier '25 was pleased with the day's racing, saying this about his crew: "I couldn't have asked for a better approach to the racing today. We had a crew that stayed relaxed and composed in the windy rain, and we made a great adjustment between pieces to get even faster despite tired legs. I can't wait to see what this week of practice brings as we continue to dial in our 2k execution."

The Williams second eight also began their afternoon with a dual vs Marietta, where they prevailed in one of the closest contests of the day, going 6:00.3 compared to Marietta's 6:03.3. For their next race, the Eph second eight finished the day bringing home a win against Ithaca. Williams put down a time of 6:00.38. Ithaca trailed with a time of 6:27.60. 5 seat Luke Guleserian '28 had this to say about his first sprint duals of his college career: "It was good to come out on top in both races. After a ferocious start, Marietta did not bow out, which kept us honest for our first race of the year. For Ithaca, we came out firing and the boat flowed better between strokes. The crew kept pushing hard even after we got ahead."

The third eight's race against Rochester kicked off their season. The contest resulted in a solid win for Williams, who went 6:18.9 compared to Rochester's 6:54.7. 3 seat Charlie Halverson '26 had this to say about the race: "The boys were rearing to go off the start. We built a lead early and worked from there. We were happy with the results but there is more speed to find in the weeks to come." For their second race of the day, the third eight broke into two fours. Both fours took home wins, with the third four "A" (6:44.37) besting Marietta (6:55.37) and the third four "B" (6:48.7) defeating RIT (7:47.2).

The Eph fourth eight began their day in two fours, lining up against Ithaca and RIT in the "A" four and Marietta in the "B" four. The "A" four (6:58.02) defeated Ithaca (7:18.77) and RIT (7:52.08), while the "B" four (7:03.15) fell to Marietta (6:51.70). For the fourth eight's second race, they went down the course together, defeating Rochester's 6:51.6 with a time of 6:24.7. 3 seat Asher Rabinowitz '26 was happy with how his crew rowed, saying: "It was a great way to start off the season! We started the race off strong and were able to establish a strong pace for the rest of the race. There is still plenty of room to improve, but this serves as a great starting point. Excited to get back on the water this week and build upon this result."

The Williams 5V four had their first race of the day against Rochester. The crew had a strong start and built up their lead throughout the race, going (7:08.6) compared to Rochester's (8:09.6). The 5V's second race was tight, with Williams (7:11.50) edging Ithaca (7:14.91) by about 3 seconds. Rochester also raced, going (8:18.21). Bow seat Henry Hilton '28 was proud of his crew's efforts, saying: "This was the first spring race for 4 of the people in the boat, so we went into the first race a little unsure of what was going to happen. The first race went pretty well, but we got super tired and didn't row great by the end. Because we were more tired going into the second race, we tried to emphasize staying relaxed and calm. That poise really paid off and with that focus we were able to get a close win."

When reflecting on the day, assistant coach Max Mallett had this to say: "It always feels great to kick off the spring season with some good racing. For many of our coxswains—and some of our rowers—this was their very first 2,000 meter race, and I couldn't have been more impressed with their performance. I can't wait to see the team as a whole continue to get faster over the next few weeks. Thank you Ithaca for generously hosting such a well-run regatta."

The Ephs will now focus on preparing for next weekend's race: the Donahue Cup vs MIT, WPI, and Conn College in Worcester, MA.

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 - Chris Pohlmann '27
1 - Quinn Carroll '27

Second Eight (2V)

Cox - Kipp Kaplan '28
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 - Kyle McHugh '28
1 - Ben Floyd '25

Third Eight (3V)

Cox - Carina Sun '26
8 - Pablo Fox '25 
7 - James Johnson-Brown '25
6 - Nyamekye Akosah '25
5 - Jack Archer '28
4 - Ford Koles '25
3 - Charlie Halverson '26
2 - Blaz Vavpetic '27
1 - Brij Howard-Sarin '26

Fourth Eight (4V)

Cox - Ellia Chiang '25
8 - Graham Napack '26
7 - Alden Knox Weaver '27 
6 - Charlie Maier '26
5 - Hallsey Souder '28
4 - Mihr Mehrzad '26
3 - Asher Rabinowitz '26
2 - Felix Diaz '26
1 - Vaughn Sanders '26

Fours

3V "A"
Cox - Emma Cilke '28
4- James Johnson-Brown '25
3 - Nyamekye Akosah '25
2 - Charlie Halverson '26
1 - Blaz Vavpetic '27

3V "B"
Cox - Holly Miller '28
4 - Pablo Fox '25
3 - Jack Archer '28
2 - Ford Koles '25
1 - Neel Verma '27

4V "A"
Cox - Georgia Badenhope '28
4 - Graham Napack '26
3 - Hallsey Souder '28
2 - Charlie Maier '26
1 - Asher Rabinowitz '26

4V "B"
Cox - Emma Cilke '28
4- Alden Knox Weaver '27
3 - Mihr Mehrzad '26
2 - Vaughn Sanders '26
1 - Felix Diaz '26

5V (Race 1)
Cox - Alexa Balodis '28
4 - Zach Cantrell '27
3 - Alex Farman-Farmaian '28
2 - Andrew Kurgan '28
1 - Henry Hilton '28

5V (Race 2)
Cox - Georgia Badenhope '28
4 - Zach Cantrell '27
3 - Alex Farman-Farmaian '28
2 - Andrew Kurgan '28
1 - Henry Hilton '28