RESULTS

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith rowing team topped the field in two out of four events in the William Smith Challenge on the Canal this morning. The Heron varsity eight and varsity four prevailed in the season opener on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.

The varsity eight of Susan Tuvell, Caroline DeWeirdt, Karoline Loretan, Emma Dow, Aly Clark, Sammie Kearney, Eliza Orrick, Morgan Burgess, and Alex Belden notched the team's first victory in the first women's event of the day against a tight field. The time gap between first and third place was 3.8 seconds, with the Herons crossing the line at 17:24.1 followed by Liberty League opponents Rochester (17:27.5) and RIT (17:27.9).
 
"I'm very pleased with where the squad is after only three weeks of practices," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "We've been picking up speed every day and today was a good indicator that our training plan is trending in the correct direction. The athletes made excellent transitions into their line-ups over the past few days and I felt we were able to execute many of the objectives we had today."
 
The William Smith varsity four of Tuvell, DeWeirdt, Loretan, Nora Burd, and Anola Stage successfully defended the boat's Challenge victory from last season, posting a 6.1 second margin over Ithaca College. The Heron's varsity four B entry defeated all other B entries in the field.
 
"The fours race is a good indicator to me of the team's depth," Chu said. "Not only did we have the fitness for some of the squad to double, but we could also reach further into our roster and still see excellent speed." 
 
The novice program, under the direction of Assistant Coach Jason Rich, had a mighty and impressive battle for their debut race. The first novice eight crossed the line just 1.3 seconds behind winner Rochester. 
 
"Coach Rich has done a great job getting the novices up to speed in a very short amount of time," Chu said. "They demonstrated excellent foundations today and also a great deal of heart and fight. They are an athletic group of women and their futures in the sport look very bright."

The women's second varsity eight race was won by Rochester (18:27.1) followed by RIT (-20.8), William Smith (-31.1) and Ithaca (-45.0). In men's racing, RIT won over three other crews in the varsity eight and Ithaca captured the second varsity eight and varsity four events.
 
"We're proud to host the Heron Challenge on the Canal which gives the region a chance to 'test the waters' before we begin competing against larger fields. I felt that the teams that joined us today brought a high quality of racing and the tight margins indicate that New York State is in for some excellent racing for the rest of the season."