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Williams won the first NCAA Division III
Championship |
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| In 2012
Williams College became the first team to win the ECAC Rowing Trophy & the ECAC Jostens Instituion of the Year Award in the same year: (l. to r.): Fredina Ingold Pres. ECAC Bd. of Directors, Eph men's assistant Colin Regan, Eph women's assistant Meg Conan, Eph head women's coach Kate Maloney, Jim Dougher of Jostens and Eph men's head coach Peter Wells. |
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| 2007 NCAA Champions |
Rowing was the first women’s sport at Williams, founded in
1972 by the first class of women to attend the college. Professor
George Marcus of the political science department, an ex-Columbia
University oarsman, started the women’s crew club and served
as its coach for several years.
Williams was a founding member of the Eastern Association of
Women’s Rowing Colleges in 1974, and competed in the
prestigious Sprints League for the first six years of its
existence.
Williams’ women rowers found great success on the
international stage in the program’s first decade.
Nancy Storrs ’73 won a silver medal at the World
Championships in 1975 as part of the “Red Rose Crew,”
the first U.S. women’s national team camp boat, profiled by
Daniel Boyne in his book of the same title.
Storrs became Williams’ first female Olympian when she
finished 6th in the Women’s 4+ in the 1976 Games in
Montreal. Sue Tuttle '79 joined Storrs on the 1980 Olympic
Team, though the United States’ boycott prevented them from
competing. Tuttle would go on to win a bronze medal in the 4+
at the 1981 World Championships.
The early 1980’s brought hard times for the program, with
three coaches in three years from 1982 to 1984. In 1984,
though, Christina “Cruzer” Cruz, a graduate of the
University of Wisconsin and a former national team coxswain, took
over the program. Cruz would guide the team for 12 years,
helping it to grow in size and achieve varsity status (1988) and
regional prominence. Cruz guided the Ephs to the 1994 New England
Championship and the Ephs won the title again in 1997 under head
coach Robyn Horner.
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| 2006 NCAA Champions |
Williams first appearance in the NCAA Championships came in 1998 when the Ephs qualified a four. Biz Smith, Sarah Thomas, Cynthia Osterling and Jana Comstack along with coxswain Yng-Ru Chen represented the Ephs and finished 5th.
With the arrival of head coach Justin Moore in the summer of
1999 the Eph program expanded its influence from being highly
competitive in the region to becoming a nationally competitive
program.
In his first season Moore led the Ephs to the New England
Championship and All Points Trophy, captured the Avaya Championship
and landed an At-Large berth in the NCAA Rowing Championships for
Women (all divisions). Moore repeated that effort in 2000 and 2001
and then in 2002 his Ephs won the first NCAA Division III Rowing
Championships for Women when they topped the field in Indianapolis,
IN. Moore's Ephs also claimed the 2006 NCAA title.
Williams became the first NCAA Division III team to win three NCAA
Division III Championships in 2007, under the direction of interim
head coach Pat Tynan, who was filling in for Moore who was on
sabbatical that year with the Canadian National Teams.
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| The first, best team in NCAA Div. III -- 2002
Williams Ephs |
The 2008 Ephs added to the rich history of Eph rowing by adding two more firsts -- first school to win three NCAA Division III titles in a row and the first school to win four titles overall in Division III.
Head coach Justin Moore was named the College Rowing Coaches
Association Division III Coach of the Year and senior Louisa Berky
and junior Allison Prevatt earned All-America honors.
In addition, six Ephs earned National Scholar All-American honors
with Elissa Brown and Meg Conan being honored for the second year
in a row, while Katherine Quayle, Sam Smith, Katherine Robinson and
Kaitlin Kondel were honored for the first time.
Moore guided the Ephs to the NCA title again in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 the Ephs were coached by Interim Head Coach Brad Hemmerly directed the Ephs to the 2011 championship.
Kate Maloney took over the Eph program in the summer of 2011 and she captured the NCAA title in both 2012 and 2013.
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| 2008 Div. III NCAA Champs: 3rd straight & 4th overall, both records |
The 2009 Ephs won the New England and
NESCAC Championships (ECACs cancelled due to bad weather), became
the New England All Points Champions, V1 boat completed season
undefeated leading Williams to a fourth consecutive NCAA title. Eph
V1 boat won the NCAA Grand Final and the Eph 2V finished fifth in
the Grand Final.
Four not being enough the 2010 Ephs extended the Eph NCAA win
streak to five. Justin Moore's Ephs were New England, NESCAC and
ECAC Champions. The V1 boat completed a second consecutive
undefeated spring season. Once again the Eph V1 boat won the NCAA
Grand Final and this time the Eph 2V moved up two places and
finished third in the Grand Final.
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| 2009 NCAA Champions -- 4 Straight |
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| 2010: Extending the record to 5 straight NCAA titles |
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| 2011: 6th Straight and Seven Overall NCAA Titles |