Women's Crew Tops Bates, Ithaca, Coast Guard, and Marist
PITTSFIELD, MA – For the fourth time in
as many regattas, the Williams women’s crew triumphed over
their competition, sweeping all the eights races, as well as the
top two spots in the varsity fours race. The
race was a decisive step in the right direction toward the
championship racing the women will encounter in the next several
weeks, and was both a fine display of the power and speed of the
Williams boats throughout the program, and also a sense that their
finest rowing and peak speed are still to come.
The women’s 1V opened the regatta with a fantastic display of aggression and tenacity, taking a boat-length win over second place Bates. Bates, with a six-second victory over Trinity in racing last Saturday, showed they won’t be taken lightly with a strong sprint in the final 300 meters of the race, but Williams had too great a lead, maintaining a length margin at the finish.
At the start, Williams found themselves three across during their opening start sequence with Bates and Ithaca, with Marist and Coast Guard several seats back. By the 500-meter mark, Williams emerged with a four-seat lead over Bates, with Ithaca settling off the pace of the top two boats. With more than halfway to go in the 2,000 meter race, Williams took off, moving out ahead of the bow ball of Bates and putting a margin on their competition that would be difficult to respond to.
“We wanted to be in a position to control the race,” said coxswain Allison Prevatt ’09, “instead of trading moves and tens all the way down the course. We wanted to row our own race, and this was the first race of the year where the whole race was executed well.”
Though Bates put up a strong sprint in the closing meters of the race, the Eph’s lead was too great and Williams cruised across the line in 6:54.6, with Bates a length back in 6:58. Ithaca finished a solid third in 7:03.1, with Marist and Coast Guard in fourth and fifth.
The women’s second varsity experienced a challenging week, culminating in a last-minute lineup change on Friday, less than twenty four hours before their race. Despite those changes, the women responded admirably with a nine second open-water victory over second place Bates.
“We knew we’d get tough competition from Bates,” said senior coxswain Monsie Munoz, “and I think we did a great job focusing on our boat and our racing, and competing against another crew, instead of our lineup change.”
The 2V8 was aggressive off the line, finding themselves several seats up on Bates, but with a margin they weren’t comfortable to maintain. Williams remained aggressive, challenging Bates to respond with moves of their own, but with half the race down, Williams had cleared the Bates’s bow and turned their focus to posting the fastest time possible, and staying clear of the sprint they expected from their closest competition.
“This is really the first time another 2V has put this much pressure on us,” said 7-seat Jessica Kopcho ’09. “It made us work hard and brought our rowing to another level. They’re definitely the strongest 2V we’ve faced this season.” Williams crossed the line first in 7:08.4, with Bates second in 7:17. Ithaca and Marist took third and fourth.
The novice eight, filled with both recruited and walk-on first-year rowers new to collegiate racing, competed as the 3V8 this weekend, facing off against Ithaca and Bates in a three boat race.
The 3V8 opened with a solid start, moving ahead of Bates right away, with Ithaca still hanging tight. With 500 meters down they were clearly leading Ithaca, and cleared their bow by the 1,000 meter mark, a margin they would only increase down the remainder of the race course.
“Mentally, it was different for us to be in a 3V8 this week,” said freshman coxswain Fiona Wilkes. “We had a good practice yesterday with the v arsity crews and things just came together today. The boat was more set than it has ever been, and when we decided to move, everyone committed.”
Williams (7:10.9) finished first, twenty seconds ahead of Ithaca (7:30.1), and well up on third place Bates.
In varsity four racing, Williams dominated, entering t wo boats, and easily outdistancing third place Marist to take the top two places. The “A” four, coxed by Becca Licht ’11, finished in 8:11.8, with the “B” four, coxed by Liz Zhu ’11, taking second in 8:28.2. Marist was third in 8:47.5, with Coast Guard fourth.
“Our start was really strong,” said “A” stroke Adrienne Darrow ’11. “We broke early and continued to build off our lead through the finish.
“This was a great race for us,” said “B” sophomore two-seat Mara Shapero. “The rowing felt solid and we had a great finish, which is something we’ve been working on.”
“This was the best week of practice we’ve had all spring,” said women's head coach Justin Moore. “This was a week, for the 2V, where they struggled the most with a reconfigured lineup late in the week, but the character of these women is evident when you see how they respond. Things change, but if you pull hard, you succeed, and that’s what our 2V showed.”
“Programmatically, we are lifting each other up and it’s exciting,” continued Moore. “I don’t think we’ve reached our peak speed yet. An immature crew might think we’ve done what we need to do. I’d like to think that we are a mature crew and this is just part of our progression into the championship season.”
This was the last home regatta for nine seniors: Elissa Brown, Meg Conan, Katherine Conaway, Clara Coughlin, Jessica Kopcho, Monsie Munoz, Allison Prevatt, Katherine Robinson, and Sam Smith.
Williams will travel to Lake Quinsigamond for the last time season to compete in the New England Rowing Championships on Saturday, May 2.
Lineups:
Women’s 1V8
Coxswain Allison Prevatt ‘09
8 Katherine Robinson ‘09
7 Sarah Ginsberg ‘10
6 Sam Smith ’09
5 Meg Conan ‘09
4 Dorothy MacAusland ‘12
3 Kate Shaper ‘12
2 Emma Pelegri-O’Day ‘12
1 Julia Halterman ‘10
Women’s 2V8
Coxswain Monsie Munoz ‘09
8 Katherine Conaway ‘09
7 Jessica Kopcho ‘09
6 Jane McClelland ‘12
5 Heather Burrell ‘11
4 Bianca Czaderna ‘11
3 Laura Caccamo ‘10
2 Anna Soybel ‘11
1 Elissa Brown ‘09
Women’s Novice 8 (Racing as the 3V8)
Coxswain Fiona Wilkes ‘12
8 Sara Wallace ‘12
7 Abbie Deal ‘12
6 Kelsey Conklin ‘12
5 Sydney Tooze ‘12
4 Lindsey Olsen ‘12
3 Sarah Dorsey ‘12
2 Ashley Amos ‘12
1 Nora Kern ‘12
Women’s 4+ “A”
Coxswain Becca Licht ‘11
4 Adrienne Darrow ‘11
3 Ellen Stuart ‘11
2 Rachel Hudson ‘10
1 Emma Lehman ‘10
Women’s 4+ “B”
Coxswain Liz Zhu ‘11
4 Clara Coughlin ‘09
3 Kaitlin Konkel ‘10
2 Mara Shapero ‘11
1 Joya Sonnenfeldt ‘10
