SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The William Smith College rowing team wrapped up its fall season competing in a pair of events today. The Herons' top two varsity eights raced in the Head of the Fish Regatta while the Heron novice eight raced at Ithaca.
On Fish Creek in Saratoga Springs, crews were faced with terrible weather conditions. Cold temperatures, sleet, hail and heavy rain were the order of the day. As the morning progressed, the wind built, creating unsafe racing conditions and prompting organizers to canceled the afternoon racing block.
William Smith's varsity eight of
Susan Hurwitz,
Emma Falkenstein,
Molly Dexter,
Camila Goclowski,
Taryn Wenberg,
Sarah Laferrera,
Annie Wertheimer,
Lucy Brancazio, and
Emma Lubrano posted a time of 11:48.31 to place seventh out of 21 crews. Division I Marist won the event, finishing just over a second ahead of runner-up Williams. The Herons were about eight seconds behind league rival RIT, but finished ahead of Liberty League foes St. Lawrence, Skidmore, Vassar and St. John Fisher.
The Heron second varsity eight of
Hannah Baron,
Sarah Lewicki,
Hope Lee,
Alexandra Deku,
Gillian Casserly,
Katie Frohman,
Freya Birkas-Dent,
Tatiana Loftus, and
Tori Wissa finished in 13:42.54 to place 14th out of 18 crews.
"This was a fine ending to a season strong on process and improvements," Head Coach
Sandra Chu said. "I'm extremely pleased with our development and trajectory this fall. The team is racing with a maturity that is steps ahead of its chronological age. We are set up very well for our spring season."
ITHACA, N.Y.—The William Smith novice eight of Caroline Pustay,
Mackenzie Barrall,
Emma Bilton,
Scott McClearn,
Carolyn Girard,
Madison Hasbrouck,
Hannah Bilton,
Sofia Schuller, and
Sara King raced four 1,000-meter races against Ithaca's novice eight and second novice eight.
The Herons' first two races were head-to-head. William Smith won its opener by more than 29 seconds over the Ithaca 2N8. In their second race, the Herons were just a second behind the Ithaca N8. The final two races were three boats across. William Smith prevailed in the first by 0.74 seconds over the Ithaca N8 and almost 21 seconds over the 2N8. In the final race, the Bombers' N8 beat the Herons by just over seven seconds, but William Smith enjoyed a healthy margin over the 2N8.
"When I first conceived this opportunity, all the coaches from both programs were skeptical," Chu said. "It hadn't been done yet, we were nervous about separating our novices from the varsity, and we suddenly had to prepare our crews for spring starts and sprints. In the end, though, the event achieved every objective we had: a meaningful preview of the spring and the opportunity to bring our teams together in a very positive way. We thank Ithaca for taking the leap with us and hosting the event."
