ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The William Smith rowing team opened the fall portion of its 2026-27 season at Head of the Genesee on Saturday. The Herons won all four events they were entered in and added two silver and one bronze medal.
 
William Smith competed against a field of eight teams on a 5,000-meter race course on the Genesee River. The Herons competed against teams from Rochester, RIT, St. Lawrence, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Clarkson and Ithaca, battling a growing headwind that built slowly throughout the day to around six or seven miles per hour.
 
COLLEGIATE 8+

• The Herons were on the water first, competing in the Women's Collegiate 8+ at 10:15 a.m.
• The Women's Collegiate 8+ Boat A was rowed by Lizzy Whitney, Leah Wiebe, Eden Grim, Cheyenne Muldowney, Danielle Eaton, Olivia Helms, Alayna Wian, Ollie Sainsbury and Meghan Bartholomay.
• The Herons were alert this morning, bringing an exciting opener to the day as they launched first and finished first. With a boat consisting mostly of rowers who competed at the NCAAs, William Smith established control of the race right off the line, opening clear water behind them. The Herons crossed the finish with a time of 18:19.795.
• The Herons Collegiate 8+ Boat B was composed of MaryLi Nielsen, Ainsley Kimball, Mariee Voss, Dani Krenzer, Paige Barnhart, Lily Keefe, Anna Pedone, Elina Jones and Isabella Ramirez.
• They started strong, developing a fast pace and a sense of togetherness in the first 500 meters. They continued to find their rhythm and crossed the line with a time of 19:48.5.
• Junior Mariee Voss reflected on her race in the eight, stating, "It was hard, and I felt like my legs were on fire by the end of it, but we gave it our all so I'm very proud of that."
• William Smith's Novice 8+ was powered by Tuyche Smrstik, Lena Smith, Lucia Maratovic, Caroline Hendrickson, Kenna Huot, Audrey Greene, Stori Weenig, Violet Jakes and Anna Peterson. They crossed the line with a time of 19:28.107, finishing fourth.
• The Novice 8+ put in a strong debut. The boat included walk-on Stori Weenig, in her first race after just learning to row.  They delivered an impressive performance, racing off the start and passing a few boats in the first 1,000 meters.

 
OPEN PAIRS

• The Herons had four of the five pairs in the Women's Open 2- event.
• The Herons' boats included Ainsley Kimball and Mariee Voss in one boat, Dani Krenzer and Paige Barnhart in the next, Izzy Ramirez and Lily Keefe in the third boat, and Elina Jones and Anna Pedone in the final pair.
• The four boats competed against one Clarkson pair in their event and took home gold, silver, and bronze.
• Krenzer and Barnhart won gold with a time of 22:32.437.
• Kimball and Voss took home silver, finishing with a time of 24:35.342.
• Ramirez and Keefe rounded out the podium, finishing third, crossing the line at a time of 25:21.825.

 
NOVICE 4+

• The Herons' two novice fours raced against crews from St. Lawrence and West Side Rowing Club in their event.
• The A Boat was driven by Nielsen, Caroline Hendrickson, Huot, Greene and Peterson.
• The novice Herons had an amazing second race of the day, building on their earlier debut with a commanding performance right off the start. Quickly rowing past the start line, the women built to a confident rate of around 28 and held onto it in a worsening headwind. First off the line, and first across the finish, the women cemented their first-place win with a time of 22:01.025.
• The B Boat was composed of Smrstik, Smith, Maratovic, Weenig and Jakes.
• The novices put together a solid second race by finding their rhythm early in the first 500 meters and steering a straight line down the course. With the growing headwind, the women rowed high and long to continue their strong rate consistency. The boat crossed the finish with a time of 22:37.311, taking home the silver for the Herons.

 
COLLEGIATE 4+

• The collegiate four races rounded out the day.
• The Herons Collegiate 4+ Boat A was powered by Whitney, Wiebe, Grim, Muldowney and Bartholomay.
• Despite a 10-second penalty and starting last, the women persevered, passing seven crews as they made their way down the course. The four put together a hard-fought race, finishing with a time of 20:24.605. It was the second gold medal of the day for all five rowers.
• William Smith's Collegiate 4+ Boat B was pushed by Nielsen, Wian, Sainsbury, Eaton and Helms.
• Off the start, the women advanced rapidly, passing a few teams within the first 600 meters and continued to do so through the 1,000-3,000-meter mark. Although the Herons hit some of the growing headwind within the 600-meter mark, they continued to build confidence through the race in its entirety. The Women's Collegiate 4+ Boat B finished with a time of 21:43.383 in fourth place.
• Senior Ollie Sainsbury revisited her race, "We got the opportunity to really push ourselves against other teams for the first time this season, which was amazing. The headwind was pretty rough there at the end, but we really worked together and tried to make it feel the best we could!"'

COACH'S CORNER

"The team's leadership was evident yesterday as the crews managed the energy of race day and worked together to make it a successful day for the Herons," Assistant Coach Linnea Darius '26 said. "It's always great to see the hard work the team has put into their training this summer and fall pay off."

UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 17, when it heads to Boston to compete in the Head of the Charles.