Women's crew sweeps in final regular season regatta
PITTSFIELD, MA -- In their last home regatta of the season and
final race before the New England Championships, the Williams
women's crew won every event they entered, defeating Coast Guard,
Marist, Ithaca, and 2007 NCAA third place team Bates by solid
margins. The wind steadily increased throughout the morning,
making for choppy water and slower than usual times at Lake Onota,
but the Williams women persevered and proved their dominance,
regardless of the conditions.
The women’s first varsity boat began the morning in a
preliminary heat facing Coast Guard, where they crossed the line in
7:13.0 for an easy victory. Bates, Ithaca, and Marist
competed in a separate preliminary heat where Bates and Ithaca
pushed each other to finish faster than the preliminary time
Williams laid down, finishing in 7:07.6 and 7:12.7, respectively,
with Marist a distant third. In the grand final, Williams
took on Bates and Ithaca and moved away early and finished over a
length up on the field with a time of 7:10.2. Bates took
second in 7:15.7, with Ithaca third in 7:24.2.
In the second varsity race, the Williams 2V, racing in an new
lineup from their previous race, toed the starting line with Bates,
Marist, and Ithaca and made short work of their opponents, taking
nearly a ten second victory with a time of 7:13.5. Ithaca
placed second in 7:22.8, with Bates in third, six seconds back, and
Marist in fourth. Coast Guard did not enter a second varsity
eight.
The women’s third varsity boat, also with a new lineup, went
head-to-head with Ithaca and used a quick start sequence to get
ahead early and move away for a twenty second victory with a final
time of 7:44 to Ithaca’s 8:05. Bates, Marist, and Coast
Guard did not field third varsity eight boats.
The novice women rowed to a resounding win to cap off the day for
the Ephs. Facing novice boats from Marist, Ithaca, and Coast
Guard, the 1N made it their race and pulled off a big win,
defeating their nearest competitor—Marist—by eighteen
seconds. The Williams novices recorded a time of 7:43.9 with
Marist second in 8:01.1. Ithaca and Coast Guard were third
and fourth. Bates did not enter a novice eight.
The results for the Williams women this past weekend will ensure
that they are seeded highly going into the championship
season.
The women’s crew will return to Lake Quinsigamond in
Worcester, MA next weekend for the third time this season for the
New England Rowing Championships, where for the last two years the
Williams women have won the overall points trophy awarded to the
team who collectively scores the most points in the championship.
