PITTSFIELD, Mass. - The No. 1-ranked Williams College women's crew team secured victories in all four boats Saturday against NESCAC competitor and No. 10 Hamilton on senior day at Lake Onota.
The Williams' third varsity eight lined up first, led by coxswain
Charis Woo '27, with
Jordan Bose '29 stroking, followed by
Isolde Rayman-Moore '28,
Olivia Thurman '27,
Caroline Ripsteen '29,
Annika Binstadt '29,
Ellery Franceschini '29,
Laela Clark '28 and
Lily Clemens '28 in bow.
Off the start, the boat began a commanding 2,000 meters. The team got up to a length-and-a-half lead over Hamilton in the first 500 and continued to push off its bow ball in the remaining 1,500, finishing with over three lengths of open water ahead of second-place Hamilton.
Two-seat Clark reflected on the race, noting, "We put everything we had out there and were able to make some serious strides with our race plan and execution. I am so proud of this boat." The third varsity eight finished with a time of 7:33.7, over 27 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
The Williams' first and second varsity eight boats lined up together in a combined race, the second of the day.
Coxswain
Ariana Oppenheimer '26 brought the first varsity eight to the line, despite some winds at the start, with 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. The second varsity eight was led by coxswain
Ayanna Keshav '28, with stroke seat
Lindsay Gadsden '27, followed by
Betsy Owens '28,
Anne Moghtader '29,
Catherine Farman-Farmaian '26,
Charlotte Ragozin '27,
Annie Refermat '26,
Molly McWeeny '26 and
Maya Tait '26 in bow.
The first varsity eight began the first 500 with a calm and patient rhythm, with a strong and connected start. At the 1,000-meter mark, the crew began to increase the open water lead over all three crews, pushing to over two lengths between them and the others.
The second varsity eight also had a strong showing in the combined race, with a competitively fast start. The unit got up on both Hamilton's first and second varsity eights in the first 1,000, walking through both boats. The first varsity finished with a time of 7:01.0, the second varsity went 7:16.6, ahead of the Hamilton crews, which finished with times of 7:24.0 and 7:26.3, respectively.
Six-seat Moghtader of the second varsity said of the race, "I thought that everyone left it out there today on the course and that we have made a lot of progress since the start of the season. I am looking forward to building off that and for hopefully some even faster races in the future." Similarly, three-seat McDonald said of the race, "We had a difficult practice on Friday, but were able to bounce back both mentally and technically today. I am incredibly proud of this boat and all of the seniors on the team today and am looking forward to keep sharpening the edges this week."
Finally, the Williams' novice 4+ lined up at the start, led by coxswain
Qi Wang '26, stroked by
Amelie Etter '29, Binstadt,
Rendell Belanger Curren '29 and
Megan Finando '29 in bow. The novice 4+, in their second race ever, performed strongly, gaining open water over the Hamilton crew off the start.
As Wang noted, "The 4+'s race was fantastic. We had open water throughout the race. Everyone was consistently rowing with technical efficiency, while still experimenting with a higher rate." This was certainly true, with the 4+ finishing with a time of 8:14.7, while Hamilton went 8:37.0 down the course.
As head coach
Paula Thoms proudly said of the day, "Congratulations to our amazing group of seniors. Their last race on Onota was dominant and helped create momentum for our championship season."
Williams begins its championship races at the New England Rowing Championships on Lake Quinisigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Saturday, May 2.
