ROCHESTER, N.Y.-The William Smith College rowing team opened its 2019-20 season with a strong performance at the Head of the Genesee this afternoon The Herons varsity and second varsity eights earned bronze medals.
 
William Smith's varsity eight was on the water first at 12:20 p.m. In the standard structure of head style racing, boats left the starting line 10-20 seconds apart, seeded according to last year's finish. Starting third in the 1V race, the long gap between boats made passing and being passed a challenging task. For the most part, the top 5 entries stayed true to their seeding.
 
The Herons took about 1000 meters to settle into an efficient base cadence and used patience and good length through the water to finish third overall. Senior Elisabeth Rowedder, senior Anna Moreau, first-year Clare O'Connell, junior Micaela Deutsch, first-year Somer Ellis, first-year Elizabeth Rowland, sophomore Annie Wertheimer, senior Tori Malamas and senior Catherine DiCara powered down the five kilometer course in a time of 18:36.45. They were less than a second behind RIT.
 
"We really had no idea how we would stack up today and our goals were very internal," said Head Coach Sandra Chu. "We wanted to execute on race day the length and power we've been producing in practices and race maturely and stubbornly. We did that and it showed up in our results. This boat may be young with only four seniors and no juniors, but that did not slow them down in the least. Their headspace was fiercely intentional."
 
William Smith's 2V8 of first-year Lucy Tecca, sophomore Emma Bilton, sophomore Hannah Bilton, first-year Hayley Dineen, first-year Diamond Figueroa, first-year Vicky Karpowicz, first-year Katharina Fischer, first-year Claudia White and sophomore Scott Mclearn also earned a bronze despite pre-race equipment issues.
 
"I can't say enough about how ferociously adaptable this crew was," Chu said. "It would have been a lot easier for them to get down in the dumps or to doubt themselves and each other. Instead, the lineup, which had three true novices in it, laid down 5000 meters of more than solid tech and efforts. Lucy steered a fantastic course and her crew backed her up."
 
William Smith will be back on the race course on Oct. 26, when it heads to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for the Head of the Fish.