WORCESTER, Mass.-In the first of two days of rowing on Lake Quinsigamond, the ninth-ranked William Smith College rowing team turned in a pair of strong finishes against some of the top teams in the nation. The varsity eight finished third of eight teams and the second varsity eight was fifth.
 
The varsity eight had a rough first race with choppy water and strong cross-head winds impacting both the course and rowers' technique. Sophomore Susan Hurwitz, sophomore Molly Dexter, sophomore Taryn Wenberg, first-year Annie Wertheimer, sophomore Sarah Laferrera, sophomore Julia Walters, junior Anna Moreau, sophomore Emma Falkenstein, and senior Lizzy Houston powered the Herons down the 2000-meter course with a time of 7:59.5. No. 1 WPI won the heat, crossing the line at 7:46.4. William Smith and the Engineers advanced to the Grand Final. Connecticut College and Colby, the other two entries in the heat, progressed to the petite final.
 
In their heat, the second varsity eight took on WPI the Mules and Clark. The Herons also struggled with the conditions and finished third with a time of 8:38.2.  The Engineers and Mules advanced to the grand final while William Smith and Clark progressed to the petite final.
 
In the grand final, William Smith varsity eight was pitted against No. 1 WPI, No. 4 Ithaca, and Colby. The Herons kept the race tight for the first 1000-meters but the Engineers and Bombers pulled away down the stretch with WPI finishing first and Ithaca second. Hurwitz, Dexter Wenberg, Wertheimer, Laferrera, Walters, Moreau, Falkenstein, and Houston crossed the line third with a time of 7:30.8.
 
"The varsity eight got its job done to progress to the grand final," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "We just weren't establishing a very good platform out of the bow.  We had similar issues in the final but were able to row longer with more effectiveness. We also had a much stronger last 500 than in previous weeks."
 
William Smith's second varsity eight Elisabeth Rowedder, Tori Malamas, Alexandra Deku, Catherine DiCara, Emma Lubrano, Scott McClearn, Tatiana Loftus, Freya Birkas-Dent, and Emma Bilton won the petite final. The Herons made some hard adjustments on land and came off the line tight with Connecticut College, Clark and the University of New Hampshire. The 2V used a strong second 500 to establish a firm lead by the 1000 meter mark. The margin continued to widen down the stretch as William Smith pulled away for the win. The Herons crossed the line with a time of 7:57.7, 14 seconds ahead of the Camels.
 
"The 2V let the condition and pressure of progression lock them up," Chu said. "They didn't race to win in the heat. At this stage in the season we have to race with an element of risk that we were afraid to access. In the petite final. They demonstrated they had the skills to do that. They increased their margin against Clark from the heats to the final. We were definitely a different crew in the second race. I think the boat grew a lot this morning and I know we'll take it forward into tomorrow's racing."
 
The Herons will return to Lake Quinsigamond tomorrow morning. The Herons will take on No. 1 WPI, No. 12, Tufts, Clark and Skdimore at 9:10 a.m. The second varsity eight will race against the Jumbos, Engineers and the Cougars at 9:30 a.m.