Results on Row2k.com

The William Smith College rowing team enjoyed a successful day of racing on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The Herons, ranked third in the nation, won the varsity eight race, finished second behind Division I Holy Cross in the second varsity eight and took second in the novice eight.

Crews were greeted by a strong headwind and choppy conditions. The varsity eight of Kim Goral, Liz Hafer, Sinead Reilly, Lauren Blake-Whitney, Sarah Gordon, Katie Paige, Tess Wiggins, Alyssa Trebilcock and Jess Steketee posted a winning time of 7:20.62 on the 2,000-meter course. The Crusaders finished second, 8.1 seconds back, followed by Ithaca, Colby and Connecticut College. While the Herons produced an open water victory, it wasn't a perfect run. William Smith was able to overcome three crabs (a rowing term for a bad stroke that results in an oar acting as a break).

The second varsity eight of Emily Davidowitz, Claire Brown, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Hughes, Caroline DeWeirdt, Laura Cappio, Leila Peraro, Anola Stage, and Amanda Reusch finished second in a three-boat race with Holy Cross and Ithaca. The Crusaders crossed the finish line first in 7:37.7 with the Herons 8.64 seconds behind. The Bombers trailed William Smith by 8.07.

Melanie Baltzer, Morgan Burgess, Emily Andersen, Emma Dow, Alexandra Clark, Kristen Brayden, Carissa Boire, Alanna Dugan, and Emma Tiedemann powered the Heron novice eight. They also finished second in a three-boat race. The Herons logged a time of 7:59.64, just 2.34 seconds behind Ithaca. William Smith was nearly 46 seconds ahead of Holy Cross.

"In all events, we used today's opportunity to be at this amazing venue with great competitors to learn the next lesson that rowing and racing present," William Smith Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "The 1V learned that sometimes even though things are not going as efficiently as you want them to go, you can still depend on inner strengths to gut it out. The 2V was very technically sound today but got outpowered. I'm confident that they have the physical talent to turn that around tomorrow. The novice eight also built upon its changes this week and will be working on more consistency in the middle of the race."

William Smith will be back on the water tomorrow, April 22, when the Herons race against No. 14 WPI, Tufts, Skidmore, and Rensselaer.