SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The William Smith College rowing team competed at the New York State Championships on Fish Creek today. The Heron novice four delivered the team's top finish, taking fifth place.
 
Hannah Baron, Alicia Lai, Tatiana Loftus, Rachael Brown, and Victoria Wissa progressed to the afternoon's grand final thanks to a third place finish in their morning heat, more than 30 seconds ahead of the fourth place crew. In the afternoon, William Smith posted a finals time of 9:41.021, about a second ahead of sixth place New York Maritime. The Herons had an impressive charge in the last 10 strokes, finally breaking the lockstep they were in with Privateers, surging their bow ball across the line from a three-seat deficit to nab fifth place. Rochester, Army West Point, and St. John Fisher earned podium finishes.
 
"The novice four performed much higher than we expected, progressing to grands by being powerfully persistent and controlled in that application," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "They carried this one step forward in the grand final and achieved what we had hoped for the whole team."
 
The Heron varsity eight and second varsity eight both progressed to their respective petite finals.
 
The 1V, ranked 12th in the nation this week, drew No. 5 Ithaca, the eventual state champion, Division I Canisius, and Vassar in the heats with only the top two finishers making the grand final. The Bombers beat the Golden Griffins by more than two and a half seconds with the Herons placing third well ahead of the Brewers.
 
The 2V was matched up with Geneseo, Marist, and Rochester. The Red Foxes ran away with the heat with the Yellowjackets comfortably in second. The Blue Knights clipped the Herons at the line by 1.455 seconds.
 
"The 1V was in a really tough position," Chu said. "With eventual winner Ithaca and DI Canisius in that heat and only two to progress, we knew our speed would make grands unlikely. The 2V had better opportunities but both boats rowed really flat. It was just not a great day for us."
 
In the varsity eight petite final, William Smith delivered a much improved race, finishing second to Rochester. The Yellowjackets covered the course in 7:04.2, 2.15 seconds ahead of the Herons. William Smith was more than 11 seconds in front of third place St. Lawrence. Union, Vassar, and Geneseo rounded out the field.
 
In the second varsity eight petite final, the Herons finished first in a time of 7:38.8, more than 31 seconds ahead of second place Union and over a minute better than third place Vassar.
 
"Our squad is young and racing inconsistencies are part of the learning curve," Chu said. "I continue to be impressed by their resiliency and passion to learn from their mistakes. While I know we have better performances to deliver, I think today was a really important one for our program's development."
 
William Smith will race again on May 8, when it competes in the National Rowing Invitational Championships in Worcester, Mass.