Princeton, NJ — Women's Crew finished its season at the NCAA Championship, taking home a second place trophy in the first varsity eight and a third-place trophy in the second varsity eight. As a team, these points combined to put the Ephs in second place overall at the Division III NCAA Championship.
The team originally planned to race after 11 a.m., but the night before, race officials moved the races to 8 a.m. to avoid the worst of the day's windy conditions. Even with the time change, strong 30 mph tailwind gusts made for choppy conditions on the course.
The 2V boat, the Brightside, raced first against Ithaca, Bates, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Wellesley.
Katie Scott '26 coxed the boat with
Courtney FitzMaurice '27 in stroke seat, followed by
Molly McWeeny '26,
Maya Tait '26,
Grace McLaughlin '28,
Prairie Resch '25,
Charlotte Ragozin '27,
Arden Fluehr '25, and
Ellie Iorio '25 in bow.
The Ephs got off the start line in the front of the pack, alongside the Tufts Jumbos. As the boats crossed the 500-meter mark, Tufts pushed ahead and Williams rowed in second place, a half a boat length up on third-place Bates.
Bates, Wesleyan, and Williams battled for second place through the middle of the race. In the last 500 meters, each boat rowed within a seat of the others. Wesleyan made a strong push to cross the line in second, behind Tufts, but Williams held off Bates to secure a third place finish.
The Ephs crossed the line with a time of 6:53.1, six seconds behind first-place Tufts and within a second of second-place Wesleyan and fourth-place Bates.
"Our boat believed to the line and dug deeper than I've ever seen before," bow-seat
Ellie Iorio said. "Over the 1k, Katie called a move for the storm, and we proved to be the bright side of the storm."
"It was so nice to race in purple and gold with my best friends for the last time," two-seat
Arden Fluehr said.
"We took a move for Eileen, and it was a very powerful few strokes, but I also think it's fitting because she was the one who taught a lot of the senior class how to row," three-seat
Prairie Resch said. "It has been a crazy journey throughout these four years and I am immensely grateful for the coaches and teammates that have shaped our time here."
"My favorite part of the day was right before the 2V launched during our boat meeting and feeling all of those emotions," Assistant Coach Eileen Russel said. "I felt a sense of maturity and confidence in that boat that had built up over the past few weeks. I trusted they could make it happen and they had done everything they could up to that point. That's my favorite part of my job, teeing up the athletes for success."
The Eph's 1V boat faced St. Mary's, Bates, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Ithaca in their grand final race.
Ariana Oppenheimer '26 coxed the boat, with
Isabel Mikheev '25 in stroke seat, followed by
Audrey Riddle '26,
Abby Murphy '25,
Ellie Davis '26,
Sophia Clavenna '27,
Claire McDonald '26,
Vivian Johnson '27, and
Carolyn Fortin '26 in bow.
The last time that the crews faced each other two weeks ago, Tufts took first place, and Williams, Bates, and Wesleyan all finished within one second of each other, with Williams taking second place. The Ephs and the Jumbos came into the race with first-place finishes in their heats.
Tufts began to lead the pack in the first 500 meters, and Williams, Bates, and Wesleyan fought for second. As the crews crossed the thousand-meter mark, Tufts rowed with six-seats up on second-place Williams, who rowed two seats up on Bates and Wesleyan.
During the sprint, the Ephs made a strong push to take a few seats on the Jumbos and cross the line in second place ahead of Bates. The Ephs finished with a time of 6:39.2, two seconds behind first-place Tufts and one second ahead of third-place Bates. Wesleyan finished in fourth, three seconds behind Bates, and ahead of fifth-place Ithaca and sixth-place St. Mary's.
"When Ariana went down the whole boat and said everyone's names, the boat surged," six seat and Team Captain
Abby Murphy said. "This team learned how to believe not just in themselves but each other."
"Most of the race was a blur; the part I do remember was Ariana calling for the seniors in the boat to pass the torch down," stroke-seat and team captain
Isabel Mikheev said. "In that moment, we surged. it was particularly meaningful because we have such a young boat and a young team and such potential. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end these four years. This is only the beginning."
"It was so great being able to travel here with the team and support everyone as they raced today," alternate rower
Maddy Andersen said. "It was also incredible to see how many parents and alumni came to support us and to be able to cheer with them on the beach. I really felt the love for this team and in this team throughout the day."
"The energy at NCAAs is always really exciting and I feel really proud of what the team accomplished," alternate rower
Ella Potee said. "I'm especially proud of the class of 2025 and how we've come together."
For Eph head coach
Paula Thoms, the second-place team finish is the best performance at NCAAs she has seen during her three years of coaching so far at Williams. "My favorite part of the day was when the 1V came back to the dock and the whole team came down," Thoms said. "All the emotion and joy was there, and it was such a beautiful moment of pride for the team."
"These results mean we are on the right track and we are finding ways to improve upon our boat speed and our unity, and we are going to continue doing that for years to come."
