WORCESTER, Mass. — At the combined National Invitational Rowing Championships/NESCAC Championships, the Williams women's crew first varsity and third varsity boats earned second-place medals, with the varsity four finishing first, proving to be a strong force in the NESCAC and marking the end of some seniors' rowing careers.
Conditions on Lake Quinsigmond were sunny, 70 degrees, with an increasingly strong and cross-headwind to port in the morning heats. The women's 4+ lined up for first for Williams in the day, coxed by
Qi Wang '26 and stroked by
Amelie Etter '29, followed by
Piper Widmer '28,
Rendell Belanger Curren '29, and
Megan Finando '29. The Ephs lined up against Wesleyan, UNH, and Ithaca College in Heat 1, and immediately got off to a strong start. Wesley, UNH, and Williams held each other through the first 750 meters, but the 4+ soon began to pull away, gaining an open water lead into the 1500. They continued to push their bow ball ahead, finishing a major 26 seconds ahead of second-place Wesleyan, with a time of 8:51.142 and earning a spot in the afternoon grand final.
The women's 3V raced second in their heat against Smith, Trinity, Wesleyan, Colby, and the Coast Guard Academy, and also needed a top-two finish to secure a place in the grand final.
Charis Woo '27 coxed the boat with
Jordan Bose '29 in stroke seat, followed by
Isolde Rayman-Moore '28,
Olivia Thurman '27,
Caroline Ripsteen '29, Annika Bindstadt '29, Ellery Francheschini '29,
Laela Clark '28, and
Lily Clemens '28 in bow.
Off of the start line, the Ephs had a slower start than usual, slightly down to Trinity and Smith. In the first 500 meters, the crew managed to walk it back up on Trinity, and continued to push their bow ball inches and inches forward on Smith's crew. At the 1200 meter mark, the Ephs started to gain a few seats on Smith with a powerful response, walking it up seat by seat. Ultimately, they were able to finish almost a full boat length ahead due to this move, setting the tone for the afternoon and qualifying for the third varsity eight grand final. The crew finished with a time of 7:30.385, the top finish in all heats and 4 seconds ahead of second-place Smith College.
To secure a spot in the grand final, the 2V crew similarly had to finish at least second in their heat that included Bates, Hamilton, Coast Guard, Ithaca, and Mount Holyoke. The 2V 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 Ephs and Bobcats both got off the line fast, battling it out in the first 500 meters, a similar repeat of what happened last weekend at the New England Rowing Championships. The 2V, however, as they also did last Saturday, did not falter and used Bates' strong start as motivation yet again. They pulled ahead early, between the 750-1000 meter mark, and began to walk it away with open water above all crews. Williams crossed the line first in their heat with a time of 7:26.870, seven seconds ahead of second-place Bates.
The 1V also needed a top two finish in their heat to secure a spot in the grand final, against competitors Wellesley, Wesleyan, Skidmore, WPI, St. Lawrence, and UNH. Coxswain
Ariana Oppenheimer '26 brought the 1V to the line, followed by stroke seat Coco FitzMaurice '27,
Carolyn Fortin '26,
Vivian Johnson '27,
Ellie Davis '26,
Madeleine Lasell '29,
Claire McDonald '26,
Miranda Miller '28, and
Audrey Riddle '26 in bow. The crew had a powerful first few strokes off the start line, immediately bow ball to bow ball with Wellesley and Wesleyan. All three boats held each other through the first 500 meters, but at the 750, the Ephs began to walk it up on both crews. Their strokes were long through the water despite being at a lower rate in the headwind, but this connection brought them up in the lead to the finish. The Ephs finished their heat first with a time of 7:16.047, almost 4 seconds ahead of second-place Wellesley.
After a morning of fast races, the 4+, 3V, 2V, and 1V secured spots in their respective grand finals with first-place finishes in all heats.
In the afternoon, the 4+ lined up for their grand final against Trinity, Wellesley, Wesleyan, UNH, and WPI. As coxswain Wang '26 said of her last collegiate race, "It was amazing. We had the smoothest start yet, and were able to get bow ball on all five other crews immediately. I couldn't have picked a better way to go out as a senior." The 4+ dominated through the next 1500 meters of the race, finishing with a time of 9:15.891 in a strong headwind that picked up during their start, 14 seconds ahead of second-place Trinity, earning the Ephs their first medal of the day.
The next grand final of the afternoon was the women's third varsity eight, and the Williams 3V lined up for their grand final alongside competitors Tufts, Trinity, Bates, Wellesley, and Smith. Off the start, the 3V was as calm and collected as ever, getting their bow ball ahead of everyone on the course but Smith and Tufts. By the 400 meter mark, the Ephs soon pushed ahead of Smith and had their sights set on Tufts as they set two seats back. At the 1000, the Williams 3V attempted a move to get even with the Tufts crew, but strong gusts hitting in conjunction with Tufts' powerful sprint proved to be a challenge. The 3V finished strong, however, securing a second-place medal with a time of 7:55.325, 5 seconds behind Tufts.
In the 2V grand final, the crew lined up against Tufts, Wesleyan, Trinity, Smith, Bates, and William Smith. The 2V had a challenging start, immediately battling it out with Wesleyan and Bates for third, fourth, and fifth place in the first 250 meters. Being down in the first half of the race proved difficult, but the Ephs fought to the end with Bates, trading moves and seats until the end. The crew eventually crossed the line with a time of 7:36.441, finishing in fifth place in the field overall.
In the 1V grand final, the Ephs lined up against Wellesley and William Smith as well as fellow NESCACs Bates, Tufts, Trinity, of which these four teams would compete to be the top NESCAC finisher and take the title for the conference.
Williams had a solid start, beginning even with all other crews in the first few hundred meters. At about the 500 meter mark, Tufts' and Trinity's 1Vs began to walk it up ahead of the pack, but Williams was ready to respond. The crew began to walk it up first on Bates, and then at the 800, began to walk through Tufts with each stroke. Halfway through the race, it was a 4 boat race, with Williams, Trinity, Tufts, and Bates bow ball to bow ball with one another. The Ephs managed to walk it up in the third 500 meters, with Bates following close behind while Trinity and Tufts fell about 4 seats back. The Bates crew eventually took the stroke rate up above Williams, and were able to gain a seat of momentum and continue to push ahead with that momentum. Bates crossed the line first with a time of 7:06.210, followed by the Ephs with a time of 7:08.518.
At the end of the day, the Ephs finished third in team points in the NESCAC to runners-up Tufts and NESCAC Champion Bates College.
"I'm so proud of this team!" said head coach
Paula Thoms. "Our novice 4+ winning the Open 4+ event was an inspiring start to the finals and a great way for them to complete their season. The 3V left it all out on the water and asserted themselves as a national stand out in their category. The 2V didn't have the final they wanted but will learn from it and persevere. The 1V had such a brave race. They stayed calm and confident in a tight field and I know this race will inspire them through our preparation for NCAAs. SBS!"
The Ephs hope to earn an at-large bid to the 2026 Division III NCAA Championships, which will be announced during the selection show at 5 pm, May 12.
