Williams Crew Opens Season With Head of the Housatonic

NEW HAVEN, CT – Williams College women’s crew, returning from its fourth consecutive NCAA championship, began its fall season at the Head of the Housatonic by racing its top boat in the Division I event, and winning the Division III event.

The first varsity eight raced in the Division I collegiate eight event in order to face a high level of competition. Finishing fourth behind three boats from Yale University, the Ephs had a time of 16:35.1 over the roughly 5K course. “The important thing about racing is that the competition challenges you to a level of performance that you are unable to achieve while training in isolation. The fact that our varsity was 4th in the Division I event speaks to the level of talent in our program,” said Head Coach Justin Moore.

The Williams 2V competed in the non-Division I collegiate eight event, and took first place, with a time of 17:14.1, over a minute faster than their closest competition, the US Coast Guard Academy. Starting first in the non-Division I race, the 2V managed to overtake some of the Division I crews from the race in front of them.  Their time would have put them sixth in the Division I race.

Williams also raced two fours. The top four, stroked by Kate Shaper ’12, raced in the Division I event, capturing third place behind Yale and the New York Athletic club, with a time of 18:00.4. The second four, stroked by Maddie Berky ’10, took first in the non-Division I event, beating Coast Guard. “The 4s had never practiced before, but represented themselves well. It was good to see that we could change boats and mix line-ups (combine women from the 1V and 2V) and still race effectively,” commented Coach Moore.

“Our race was a great starting point for the year but there is still plenty for us to improve, so we're very excited to have more opportunities to race,” commented captain Julia Haltermann ’12.

The team this fall is very young, having lost nine seniors to graduation, and temporarily five juniors to study abroad programs. The majority of the varsity squad is composed of sophomores, with recruit Dana Golden ’12 joining the Ephs this fall. “Both boats are ‘young’ in both the crews and coxswain positions,” said Coach Moore.

Next week, Williams will compete in the Head of the Charles, starting first and fourth, with rivals Trinity and Bates between the Williams boats.

For complete results from the Head of the Housatonic, click here.

Event 5A: Fours – Collegiate Women (Division I)
Event 5B: Fours – Collegiate Women (Non-Division I)
Event 12A: Eights – Collegiate Women (Division I)
Event 12B: Eights – Collegiate Women (Non-Division I)

Williams V8 Lineups:

Williams 1V (4th place – Division I):
(C) Liz Zhu ’11, (S) Julia Haltermann ’10, (7) Dorothy MacAusland ’12, (6) Sarah Ginsberg ’10, (5) Emma Pelegri-O’Day ’12, (4) Kate Shaper ’12, (3) Lindsay Olsen ’12, (2) Jane McClellan ’12, (B) Maddie Berky ‘10

Williams 2V (1st place – non-Division I):
 (C) Fiona Wilkes ’12, (S) Laura Caccamo ’10, (7) Dana Golden ’13, (6) Sara Wallace ’12, (5) Abbie Deal ’12, (4) Emily Rockett ’10, (3) Sydney Tooze ’12, (2) Ashley Amos ’12, (B) Kaitlin Konkel ‘10

Williams V4 Lineups:

Williams “A” (3rd place – Division I):
(C) Liz Zhu ’11, (S) Kate Shaper ’12, (3) Dorothy MacAusland ’12, (2) Abbie Deal ’12, (B) Laura Caccamo ‘10

Williams “B” (1st place – non-Division I):
(C) Fiona Wilkes ’12, (S) Maddie Berky ’10, (3) Dana Golden ’13, (2) Sara Wallace ’12, (B) Sydney Tooze ‘12