ITHACA, N.Y.—The William Smith rowing team opened its spring season at rival Ithaca today. The Heron novice eight topped the Bombers by 14 seconds.

First-years Kim Goral, Syd Cheney, Madison Finley, Emily Shelden, Liz Hafer, Sarah Gordon, Irini Stamatiou, Nora Devine-Carter, and Leila Peraro covered the 2,000-meter course in 7 minutes, 52.48 seconds. Ithaca crossed the line in 8:06.52.

"Having a win over Ithaca is fantastic," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "To see that, put in perspective the mark this young group of students is putting on our program and a lot of the credit goes to coach Jodie Hope and her leadership of the novice program."

The William Smith varsity eight finished behind the Bombers. IC covered the course in 7:00.46, while the Herons turned in a time of 7:25.04. The second varsity eight also took second place in a time of 7:28.40. Ithaca logged a time of 7:04.35.

"All three boats rowed well today," Chu said. "I was proud of the squad, particularly the varsity eight that didn't let margin impact the quality of their row."

William Smith will be back on the water on Sun., March 28, when the Herons host RIT at Hellstrom Boathouse. Racing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.