The William Smith rowing team's varsity eight earned the 2010-11 season's final Liberty League Boat of the Week Award selected by the conference office earlier this week. The Herons finished fifth in the NCAA Rowing Championship over the Memorial Day weekend.

Ranked sixth in the nation entering the championship, William Smith improved its standing with a strong effort in the grand final. The Herons finished third in their preliminary heat (6:51.64) to progress to the grand qualifier, where they again finished third (7:08.09) to earn a spot in the grand final.

In the finale, sophomore Kim Goral, sophomore Liz Hafer, first-year Libby Hughes, junior Claire Brown, sophomore Jess Steketee, first-year Lauren Blake-Whitney, junior Tess Wiggins, senior Crary Chandler, and sophomore Sarah Gordon logged a time of 7:14.04.

William Smith won nine Liberty League Boat of the Week awards this season. Blake-Whitney, Goral, Gordon, Hafer, and Steketee were a part of six of those award winning crews, while Brown and Wiggins were recognized five times. Chandler and Hughes had a seat in two Boats of the Week.

As a team, William Smith finished fifth at the NCAA Championship. It was the Herons' ninth appearance in the national championship since 1997.