Results

The William Smith varsity eight is bringing home medals for the third straight week. On the heels of gold medal performances at the Liberty League and New York State championships, the third-ranked Herons earned bronze medals at the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., today.

William Smith also advanced its second varsity eight and novice eight to the grand finals, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. 

"Today was a fantastic end to our season," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "Putting three out of three boats into grands reaffirmed the depth of our program. The 1V battled mightily with Bates and that race was incredibly exciting to watch--much like the 2V's heat. The competition at this regatta was fierce and we were privileged to be in the thick of it." 

The strong performance by the Herons earned Chu the ECAC Coach of the Year award in a vote of her peers.

In the morning heats, the varsity eight enjoyed a comfortable 2.65-second margin of victory over fourth-ranked Wellesley to earn its spot in the grand final. The afternoon's premier race featured top-ranked Williams, No. 2 Bates, the Herons, the Blue, No. 8 Trinity and No. 15 Ithaca.

The Ephs led from start to finish, crossing the finish line in 6:39.048. William Smith went bow to bow with the Bobcats through the first 1,000 meters, but Bates pulled away down the stretch to take silver in 6:43.897. The Herons—powered by Kim Goral, Liz Hafer, Sinead Reilly, Lauren Blake-Whitney, Sarah Gordon, Katie Paige, Tess Wiggins, Alyssa Trebilcock and Jess Steketee—held off a late charge by Wellesley to finish third in 6:46.643. The Blue were fourth in 6:52.586 and the Bantams and Bombers rounded out the field.

In the second varsity eight heats, William Smith needed every centimeter of the 2,000-meter course to secure a spot in the grand final. Williams crushed the field, but the margin from second place to fourth place was just 1.333 seconds. The top three finishers in the heat made the grand final with the next three relegated to the petite final. Ithaca grabbed the second spot in 7:09.111, leaving the Herons in a duel with Division I New Hampshire for the final spot. William Smith came out on top with a strong sprint, logging a time of 7:09.464, 0.98 seconds ahead of the Wildcats.

In the afternoon, Emily Davidowitz, Claire Brown, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Hughes, Caroline DeWeirdt, Laura Cappio, Emily Shelden, Anola Stage, and Amanda Reusch finished in fifth place in 7:03.586, less than two seconds behind fourth place Wellesley and nearly five seconds ahead of Ithaca.

The William Smith novice eight of Melanie Baltzer, Morgan Burgess, Emily Andersen, Emma Dow, Alexandra Clark, Kristen Brayden, Eliza Orrick, Alanna Dugan, and Emma Tiedemann needed to finish in the top three in its heat to avoid the petite final. The Herons got off to a great start, seizing the early lead. By the time the crews moved through 500 meters Williams had a two-seat advantage on the Herons, but that was the only crew to pass them. William Smith hit the line in 7:20.038, more than 10 seconds behind the Ephs, but nearly four seconds in front of third place Ithaca.

In the afternoon's grand final, the Herons were unable to keep pace with the field, finishing sixth in 7:24.193. Wellesley won the race in 7:01.146, half a second faster than Williams.

"The season has been incredible and it is truly the personnel who have made it special,"Chu said. "The team has been relentless in its search for speed and their strength of character has given them what they need to find it. Assistant Coach Jodi Hope has been a great partner in our guidance of the team and this season's success is also the result of her leadership, too."

The ECAC NIRC is the final event of the regular season. William Smith now has to wait to find out if it will earn its 10th NCAA Championship berth.

"We've had a great season which we want to keep going, so our focus is on NCAA Championships and hunting down the speed we need to take this program even further," Chu said.

The NCAA Division III Women's Rowing Championship selection show will be webcast on NCAA.com. The field of six teams, with a varsity eight and second varsity eight each, and two at-large eights will be introduced at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 14. The Division III Championship is a two-day event beginning on Friday, May 24 on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.