Liberty League Championship Results
2V8+ Heat 1
St. Lawrence	7:31.8
Union	7:57.5
Vassar	8:00.9
2V8+ Heat 2
William Smith	7:28.4
Skidmore	7:39.7
V8+ Heat 1
St. Lawrence	7:06.9
Vassar	7:26.1
Union	7:34.7
V8+ Heat 2
Skidmore	7:23.4
William Smith	7:33.0
N4+
St. Lawrence	8:39.3
Union	8:53.5
William Smith	9:05.3
3V8+
St. Lawrence	7:47.3
William Smith	7:54.4
Skidmore	8:46.4
2V8+ Final
William Smith	7:26.0
St. Lawrence	7:33.4
Skidmore	7:42.7
Union	8:08.8
V8+ Final
St. Lawrence	7:21.0
Skidmore	7:29.4
Vassar	7:36.3
William Smith	7:37.4

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The William Smith second varsity eight won a gold medal at the Liberty League Rowing Championships on Fish Creek today.

The Herons won their opening heat in a head-to-head race with host Skidmore. Christine Babcock, Tallarie Thurgood, Laura Cappio, Alayna Beebe, Jenna Lohre, Emily Desmery, Emily Shelden, Liz Hafer, and Jess Steketee navigated the 2,000-meter course in 7 minutes, 28.4 seconds, the fastest time of the 2V8 heats. The Thoroughbreds were more than 11 seconds behind William Smith.

In the final, the Herons again made victory look easy. Their grabbed the lead early in the race and padded their advantage all the way to the finish. William Smith's winning time, 7:26.0, was 7.4 seconds faster than second place St. Lawrence. Skidmore was third followed by Union.

"This weekend's racing proved to me that I have a great boat of racers in the 2V," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "They had an impressive, no holds barred approach which allowed them to keep taking more margin from start to finish."

The Heron varsity eight finished second in its opening heat to Skidmore, but William Smith's time of 7:33.0 was good enough to advance to the final. Unfortunately, the Herons placed fourth out of four crews in the final. St. Lawrence posted a winning time of 7:21.0 with Skidmore in second (7:29.4). Vassar edged William Smith for third place by just 1.1 seconds (7:36.3-7:37.4).

"While the 1V didn't have its finest performance, we definitely achieved several important objectives this weekend in terms of how much we are doing within our race plan," Chu said. "St, Lawrence, Skidmore and Vassar brought great speed to the table today and we just weren't able to catch them."

William Smith's third varsity eight produced a second place effort with a finals time of 7:54.4. The Saints crossed the finish line first in 7:47.3, while Skidmore was third in 8:46.4.

The Herons also raced a novice four for the first time this season. William Smith was third out of three boats. St. Lawrence won in 8:39.3 followed by Union (8:53.5) and the Herons (9:05.3).

"Both the 1N and 3V showed a lot of mettle today," Chu said. "They got into lineups late in the week and were able to gel quickly."

William Smith will be back on the water on May 1-2, when the Herons compete in the New York State Rowing Championships in Whitney Point.