ITHACA, N.Y.—The William Smith rowing team, which is ranked 13th in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Poll, began their spring season with a bang, finishing in second place in all three races at the Cayuga Duels.
 
The Herons rowed against ninth-ranked Hamilton and sixth-ranked Ithaca in a 2,000-meter sprint down the 2,000-meter Inlet course. Rowing was contested in a off and on rain in 7-9 mile per hour cross headwind.
 
VARSITY EIGHT

• William Smith's Varsity Eight was driven by Ava Lee, Meghan Bartholomay, Olivia Sainsbury, Isabella De Nes, Leah Wiebe, Kate Abdalla, Grace Jung, Alayna Wian, and Linnea Darius.
• The varsity eight got off to a quick start and were neck and neck in a fantastic race with the Bombers. The teams exchanged the lead multiple times through the first 1750 meters until Ithaca built an eight seat lead with about 15 strokes left but the Herons' caught a crab halting their progress.
• The Bombers ultimately won the race with their sprint.
• The Herons finished at a time of 7:52.5, beating Hamilton by 15 seconds. Ithaca won the race by just over 13 seconds.

 
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT

• The Heron's Second Varsity Eight was powered by Michaela Greco, Aubrianna Ryan, Syd Morrison, Emily Clark, Lily Liflander, Nora Smith, Ainsley Kimball, Olivia Helms, and Lily Keefe.
• The William Smith's 2V8 came from behind to keep things interesting in the first 1500, but the Bombers slipped away in a hard-fought sprint.
• William Smith pulled away from Hamilton after the first 500-meter, posting a 19 second victory over the Continentals.
• The Herons concluded their race at a time of 7:50.03, finishing four seconds behind Ithaca.

 
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT

• William Smith's 3V8 was propelled by Skylar Strong, Janeciah Cunningham, Anna Pedone, Alessandra Gialanella, Emma Burger, Mariee Voss, Madeline Wasner, Dani Krezner, and Grace Ann Tyne.
• The Herons rowed stroke for stroke against Hamilton until the 500-meter mark where Hamilton powered ahead, leaving a 12 second difference between the boats at the finish. Ithaca was third, seven seconds behind the Herons.

COACH'S CORNER
"The Herons raced with great poise and willpower today against well coached teams in Ithaca and Hamilton," Head Coach Paul Bugenhagen said. "This is a big opening race for us and I was impressed with the execution of our crews today. We've been focusing on our starting procedures to begin the race and then getting into powerful rhythms for the middle of the race. All three crews did this extremely well, with the 3V leading the race through the 1000 and the 1V and 2V having their bow balls in front through the 1500m mark. This is really gutsy races for these crews. Credit to the Hamilton 3V and the Liberty League champions from Ithaca in the 1V and 2V for the way they executed their final pushes to the finish line. We have work to do and time to do it as we move through the remainder of the season. This was our strongest race in years with Ithaca and we have a ton to be proud of, and motivated by, in the weeks ahead before the Liberty League Championships in May."
 
UP NEXT:
William Smith will head back to Ithaca next Saturday, April 5, when it takes on the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology on the Cayuga Inlet.