Results

For the third year in a row, the William Smith rowing team's varsity eight won the Collegiate Eight event at the Head of the Genesee Regatta. The Herons' top crew finished more than 43 seconds ahead of the second place crew.

The Head of the Genesee combines a morning head race and a 1,500-meter sprint in the afternoon. The sprint time is tripled and added to morning time. The fastest combined time wins.

In the morning head race, William Smith's varsity eight led off an crossed the finish line more than 200 meters ahead of the rest of the field, logging a time of 18:03.04. Rochester was second followed by Ithaca and RIT. In the afternoon, the Herons kept their foot on the gas, posting the fastest sprint time, 5:26.44, for a total time of 34:22.36. The Yellowjackets, who just last weekend defeated William Smith in the HWS Challenge on the Canal, were a distance second with a time of 35:06.68. 

"We knew last week's race wasn't who we really were," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "We spent the week identifying strengths we didn't capitalize on. We rowed a very edgy race. I was impressed by the crew's confidence through the race. They needed to deliver a high performance and were not fazed by that. They relished the opportunity to simply pour it on."

The Heron varsity eight was powered by Susan Tuvell, Katie Paige, Grace Hutton, Lauren Blake-Whitney, Sinead Reilly, Alyssa Trebilcock, Libby Hughes, Catherine Wolf-Rodda, and Morgan Burgess.

William Smith also won the novice eight, defeating 10 other crews. The Herons' morning head race, the only component of the novice eight event, was a strong all-around effort. William Smith started third, moved through Rensselaer and had overlapped Buffalo by four seats at the finish line. Brianna Taylor, Acadia Moeyersoms, Rachel Rosenberg, Sammie Kearney, Laurie VanBenschoten, Samantha Fresh, Margaret Cameron, Hannah Novak, and Nina Prescott turned in a time of 20:21.68, more than a minute faster than second place Buffalo. Ithaca was third.

"I continue to be impressed by the composure of these women," Chu said about her novice crew. "They row the course like seasoned collegiate rowers."

William Smith also entered its varsity four in the women's open four event. The Herons were sixth out of 12 crews in the morning head race and maintained their position following the afternoon sprint. The posted a total time of 41:31.80. Syracuse won the event with Radcliff A and Radcliff B taking second and third, respectively.

William Smith will be back on the water when the Herons compete in the Head of the Charles on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20.