PITTSFIELD, Mass.
- The Williams College women's crew team secured victories in the first and third varsity eight races on Saturday against Wesleyan and Trinity on Lake Onota.
The Williams' first varsity eight lined up first in Lane 1, with coxswain
Ariana Oppenheimer '26 having to navigate fierce gusts, followed by stroke seat
Courtney FitzMaurice '27,
Carolyn Fortin '26,
Vivian Johnson '27,
Ellie Davis '26,
Madeleine Lasell '29,
Claire McDonald '26,
Miranda Miller '29 and
Audrey Riddle '26 in bow.
Off the start, the first varsity eight boat was slightly down to both Trinity and Wesleyan, but this did not deter the crew nor make them falter. In the middle 1,000 meters of the race, Williams began to pull away, walking through both crews and eventually getting bow ball on early leader Trinity. They held this through the end, pushing off a strong sprint from both teams.
Two-seat Miller reflected on the race, noting, "It was a close and exciting race. We stayed calm yet aggressive and stuck to our race plan and were able to walk it back up. I could feel a sense of trust and confidence throughout the entire race, no matter where the other boats were." The first varsity eight boat finished with a time of 7:17.3, 1.41 seconds ahead of second-place Trinity and 5.61 ahead of Wesleyan.
The Williams' second varsity eight was the second race of the day, led by coxswain
Ayanna Keshav '28, with stroke seat
Maya Tait '26, followed by
Anne Moghtader '29,
Betsy Owens '28,
Lindsay Gadsden '27,
Catherine Farman-Farmaian '26,
Charlotte Ragozin '27,
Annie Refermat '26 and
Molly McWeeny '26 in bow.
The second varsity eight held its own throughout the entire 2,000 meters, with a competitively fast start. Through the remaining 1,500, the Ephs were back and forth with the Trinity and Wesleyan's second varsity crews, all three boats trading getting their bow balls ahead. In the end, Williams finished with a time of 7:31.6, 0.59 seconds behind Wesleyan and 2.41 seconds behind Trinity.
Six-seat Owens acknowledged, "We had a really strong race in the boat overall, bringing a lot of important changes from the week. It was a solid effort and ended up being a close finish, with the winner being whoever was taking the largest move at the end."
The third varsity eight launched next, coxed by
Charis Woo '27, with
Jordan Bose '29 stroking, followed by
Isolde Rayman-Moore '28,
Olivia Thurman '27,
Caroline Ripsteen '29, Annika Bindstadt '29,
Rendell Belanger Curren '29,
Laela Clark '28 and with
Lily Clemens '28 in bow.
The third varsity eight boat also raced a close 2,000 meters. The boat got up to a half a length lead to both Trinity and Wesleyan in the first 1,000 meters, but the other crews fought hard to walk it back up. The Ephs held their own, however, with a strong sprint pushing their bow ball ahead just over two seats.
"We fought hard and long," bow-seat Clemens said of the race. "I am so proud of the changes our boat made this week in practice and was happy to bring that to the sprint at the end." Ultimately, the third varsity eight finished with a time of 7:39.1 seconds, 1.62 seconds ahead of second-place Wesleyan.
Finally, the Williams' novice 4+ lined up, racing this first 2,000 meters of the season against Trinity and Wesleyan. The four raced a powerful race despite rating almost 10 beats lower than the other crews, finishing with a time of 9:33.49 in third place.
"From our varsity 8+ to our novice 4+, the team showed up and performed with pride, grit and purpose," said head coach
Paula Thoms. "We brought the week of work at practice into our racing and it paid off. We will take time to enjoy this weekend's performance, and be excited to get back to work on Monday."
The Ephs compete against Hamilton on Saturday, April 25, from Lake Onota.
