BOSTON—The William Smith College rowing team competed in the 51st annual Head of the Charles Regatta today. The Heron varsity eight finished 17th out of 32 entries in the world's largest regatta.
William Smith needed to finish in the top half of the field to qualify for next year's regatta.
Susan Tuvell,
Katherine Hesler,
Grace Hutton,
Emily Smith,
Jennifer Sullivan,
Margaret Cameron,
Maggie Santinelli,
Alexandra Townsend, and
Nicole Guardino got through the first two time checks in a qualifying position. They were in 16th place at Riverside Boat Club and moved up to 14th place at Weld Boathouse, but the Herons slipped back to 18th place at Cambridge Boathouse and crossed the finish in 18:35.48, just 0.57 seconds out of the final qualifying spot. William Smith will have to enter the lottery to return to the Charles in 2016.
"They displayed huge growth in the boat since the Head of Genesee, making up significant time on our rivals," Head Coach
Sandra Chu said. "I'm very proud of the changes they've made, their focus, and their development over the past two weeks. I see tons of potential in a boat largely made up of sophomores. We're looking forward to finding more speed by Fish."
On Saturday, the Herons fielded two alumnae crews, one in the Women's Alumnae Eights and one in the Women's Club Eights.
A year ago, Heron alumnae took to the Charles in the Alumnae Eights event, finishing 12th. This year, they bested their own performance, moving into the top 10 with an eighth place finish.
Powered by Kim Goral '13, Katie Paige '14, Kerry O'Neill '09, Rebecca Coons '06,
Caroline DeWeirdt '15, Jessica Mahon '08, Nadie Reilly '14,
Anola Stage '15, and
Libby Hughes '14, the boat contained four All-Americans. They drove an aggressive course and passed 1927 Cambridge by the one mile mark. From that point, they used consistent, patient power to battle the 15 knot headwinds and blasting gusts.
"The boat's collective goal was to qualify for next year," Chu said. "Beyond that, they didn't have too many other expectations. Because they are all united by the culture of our program and it's values, I think that it was easy for them to step back into the shell and come together quickly for excellence."
Racing later in the day, a second group of alumnae took flight as well. Debuting in the Club Eights, Emily Davidowitz '14, Kirsten Cooper '10, Sarah Gordon '13,
Nora Burd '15, Kristina Latta-Landefeld coach '07, Leila Peraro '13, Natalie Hoppel '93, Katie Lehmann '14, and Caitlin Holtz '11 finished 35th.
"As we stood on the banks of the Charles, introducing alumnae to the current team, I was struck by how proud each woman was to be a Heron rower," Chu said. "I was excited to have 18 women choose to represent William Smith again. Our alumnae have created the program and we are honored to continue their long-standing tradition of excellence, commitment, and respect."
William Smith will wrap up its fall season in the Head of the Fish Regatta on Oct. 31.
