The William Smith College rowing team competed at the 2019 Liberty League Championship on Fish Creek in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this afternoon. Fitting racing in-between days of inclement weather, the regatta ran smoothly and, for the Herons, according to seeding.
 
For the first time since 2014, the Liberty League Championship was determined by the winner of the varsity eight race. Third-ranked Ithaca and ninth-ranked William Smith had strong starts and were locked in a tight race from start. The two boats were even through the opening 1,000 meters. At the midpoint of the race, the Bombers called for a move and took a slight lead over the Herons. Ithaca closed strong, winning the race by five seconds. The Bombers won their second consecutive Liberty League title and earned the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA championship.
 
The Herons varsity eight of 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 stopped the clock with a time of 7:20.619. St. Lawrence finished third, six seconds behind William Smith. Rochester Institute of Technology, Skidmore, and Union rounded out the field.
 
"I think we put out our best today," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "We had extraordinary practices since the last time we raced Ithaca and made up about three seconds, which is a lot in a short amount of time. It didn't get us the result we wanted, but we did absolutely everything we could."
 
The Herons second varsity eight opened the day's racing against Ithaca, RIT, St. Lawrence and Union. Junior Elisabeth Rowedder, first-year Emma Bilton, junior Tori Malamas, sophomore Alexandra Deku, first-year Scott McClearn, junior Emma Lubrano, first-year Freya Birkas-Dent, senior Tatiana Loftus, and junior Catherine DiCara powered William Smith to a fourth place finish. William Smith crossed the line with a time of 8:21.698. Ithaca won the race, posting a time of 7:48.270.
 
"While they were not able to exceed their seeding, based on previous results this season, we expected the 2V to be in a barn burner with Union," Chu said. "To finish with a 19-second margin gave us an indication that this crew has picked up speed over the past few weeks."
 
William Smith also entered a varsity four in today's regatta. First-year Hannah Baron, junior Annika Linden, senior Madelaine Hamilton, senior Tori Wissa, and first-year Hannah Bilton finished third. St. John Fisher won with Rochester crossing the line second.
 
"The varsity four, which has been struggling with injuries this spring, took great strides today, succeeding in some of its process goals despite their great challenges," Chu said.
 
William Smith will be back in action next Sunday, May 12, when it head to Worcester, Mass., for the National Invitational Rowing Championships.