WATERLOO, N.Y.-The No. 10 William Smith College rowing team competed against No. 2 Williams and No. 8 Wellesley on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal this morning. Going forward, the annual early season race between the Herons, Ephs, and Blue will be known as the W Cup.
 
Racers arrived to flat conditions with no wind and a small head current. The first race of the day was the varsity eights race. Williams grabbed an early two seat lead on William Smith and Wellesley, which they held to the 1200 meter mark. In the middle of the course, the Blue dug in and picked up a few seats on William Smith for second place. The Herons fought back with 300 meters remaining but were unable to close the gap. The Ephs won the race crossing the line with a time of 7:02.73. Wellesley was second stopping the clock at 7:03.98. 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 William Smith's varsity eight down the 2,000 meter course to a time of 7:05.82.
 
"This was a spectacular race," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "I was so impressed by all three crews. Each raced with excellent composure and the focus in all boats was palpable. Williams and Wellesley are incredibly strong crews and the Herons showed that they are ready to compete at the highest level in the nation this season and took another great step forward from their racing last weekend. I know that today's race will help our entire team improve."
 
The second varsity eight of junior Elisabeth Rowedder, junior Catherine DiCara, first-year Emma Bilton, junior Tori Malamas, senior Madelaine Hamilton, sophomore Alexandra Deku, junior Emma Lubrano, first-year Freya Birkas-Dent and senior Tatiana Loftus had a strong first 1000 meters but lost most of their margin in the second half of the race. The Ephs won the 2V8 race, stopping the clock at 7:25.90. Wellesley crossed the line second with a time of 7:32.69 and the Herons were third, crossing the line at 8:01.40.
 
William Smith also entered a varsity four in today's races. The Herons and the Ephs went head to head. Williams won the race by 20 seconds, logging a time of 8:58.22. Senior Hannah Baron, sophomore Gillian Casserly, first-year Hannah Bilton, first-year Scott McClearn, and senior Tori Wissa finished with a time of 9:18.57.
 
"The varsity four is very inexperienced but makes monumental changes each day," Chu said. "We're extremely glad that they had the opportunity to race today so we can identify what work we need to do this coming week."
 
The Herons will be back in action tomorrow, April 7, when they travel to Rochester. The Herons and Yellowjackets will compete head to head at Genesee Valley Park.