Women's crew showcases depth at Murphy Cup
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Williams College women’s
crew, two-time defending national champions, took two silvers and a
bronze at the Murphy Cup on the Schuylkill River to conclude
their spring break training trip. “This was the most
competitive racing situation we’ve had on our return trip
from spring break in my years as a coach here,” said head
coach Justin Moore. Williams fielded three varsity eights and
a novice eight in the regatta and faced off against Division I
programs, such as Villanova, Bucknell, Lehigh, and Navy. The
competitive atmosphere of the regatta was the perfect season debut
for the Williams crew and a chance to showcase their
program’s depth. The famed Schuylkill River course features a
slight turn 800 meters into the race as crews race through the
Strawberry Mansion bridge and a fast current that makes for quick
times and challenging racing conditions.
The 1V boat took second place in the final of the varsity event
after winning their heat. In the heat they took it out with a
fast first 500 meters, gaining open water on the field with 800
meters down, and then settling to a strong rhythm to finish in 6:43
to advance to the finals. Williams faced a powerful Bucknell
crew in the final and found themselves down several seats after
taking the turn. The 1V boat showed their fitness in the
second half of the race and didn’t allow Bucknell, the
lightweight eight champions at the 2007 IRA National Championship,
to move away, taking second in 6:42 as the two crews separated
themselves from the rest of the field.
In the JV race, the Williams 2V boat placed second to Bucknell in
the final. The 2V boat advanced to the finals after placing
second to a St. Joseph’s University crew in their preliminary
heat in 6:54, less than a second out of first. Eager to get
another shot racing the St. Joeseph’s crew, the 2V boat
pushed the pace early in the race, keeping contact with Bucknell
and retaining an edge over the rest of the field to close out their
racing for the day finishing in 6:52 with a second place
performance. The Williams 3V competed in the JV race as
well and took third place in their heat with a solid early season
race. Their time of 7:14 left them three seconds out of
qualifying for the finals and they did not advance.
The novice boat battled with crews from Navy, Bucknell, and St.
Joseph’s to take third in their final. After an early
morning heat found them down on the Navy B boat at the 1,000 meter
mark, the novice women dug deep and walked through the Navy boat in
the third 500 meters of the race to take first in 7:02 and set the
fastest heat time of the morning. Racing in lane two in their
afternoon final, the Williams boat was flanked by the Navy A and B
boat and raced through the turn to move head of the Navy crews and
settle into third place behind St. Joseph’s and Bucknell,
crossing the line with a final time of 7:00.
The Williams women’s crew competed at the Murphy Cup on their
way home from their spring break training trip in Myrtle Beach, SC
and will compete next week at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA
against Holy Cross.
