In Worcester, Mass., the No. 12 William Smith rowing team lined up against No. 9 WPI, No. 15 Trinity, Connecticut College, Colby, No. 6 Ithaca, the University of New Hampshire and Clark in a heats-finals format.  Both the first and second varsity eights placed second in their heats to progress to the A final. 
 
The Heron varsity eight went on to finish fourth in the A final, and the second varsity eight took second in their A final.
 
"We've been focusing a lot on what a process of improvement looks like in recent weeks and the team had a lot of success with that in heats," said Head Coach Sandra Chu. "We were able to cut through some of the noise and distractions we'd been struggling with in previous races and to execute the basics which turned into the result we needed to move forward to the A-final."
 
The varsity eight powered by first-year Susan Hurwitz, sophomore Anna Moreau, first-year Molly Dexter, senior Elizabeth Warren, first-year Sarah Laferrera, sophomore Emma Lubrano, first-year Taryn Wenberg, senior Jennifer Sullivan, first-year Julia Walters came in second by 2.76 seconds behind WPI while the 2V of sophomore Elisabeth Rowedder, senior Nicole Guardino, sophomore Tori Malamas, first-year Emma Falkenstein, first-year Alexandra Deku, senior Carey Sevier, sophomore Giulia Acchione, sophomore Catherine DiCara, and first-year Gillian Casserly also finished behind WPI by 6.15 seconds.  Heat 1 winner Ithaca and second –place UNH rounded out the A-final for the 1V while heat winner Ithaca and second-place Colby earned spots in the 2V A-final.  
 
In the 2V A-final, racing was tight for the first 500 meters with William Smith and Ithaca in contention for second place behind eventual winner WPI.  As the race continued to unfold, the Herons surged to move solidly into second over Ithaca.  From the 1000 to the finish line, margins continued to lengthen and finish order did not change.  WPI took first in 7:04.08 and the Herons were next in 7:10.94. Ithaca took third in 7:17.74 and Colby was fourth in 7:26.97.
 
"What I'm most excited for is how the boat used an improved process in the morning to inform their racing in the afternoon," said Chu. "Because we didn't run our full race plan in the morning, we weren't sure if there were some lurking weaknesses that might show up in the afternoon.  What we did know and take away from the morning was that there were some very basic and foundational things we hadn't been doing in racing that needed to get done.  By being a lot more courageous off the line and remaining agile and receptive to paths to improvement during the race, we were able to be very proud of the work we had done.  We had great competition today and were pleased to finish where we did."
 
In the 1V A-final, Ithaca grabbed the early, commanding lead, leaving William Smith, UNH and WPI to battle it out behind.  From the start to the 1000, the Herons were definitely a part in the conversation but at the 1000 lost ground and then backed down.  They finished fourth behind Ithaca, WPI and UNH. The Bombers finished first in 6:41.36. The Engineers claimed second in 6:51.09. The Wildcats were third with a time of 7:00.68 and the Herons took fourth in 7:08.12.
 
"Our result is definitely not what we wanted and the boat is disappointed.  We had some exponential leaps in morning racing that did not carry over in full to the more challenging match-up of the afternoon, though they did carry over in part.  So, we remain dedicated to process.  The fact that we weren't able to execute to our fullest potential this afternoon just shows us that we've still got steps and work to do.  I like the fact that we are moving forward and I am confident that we'll see some more growth tomorrow."
 
Herons are back in action tomorrow in Worcester against WPI, Tuft, Clark and Skidmore.