SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The eighth-ranked William Smith rowing team swept the varsity eight races on its way to capturing the 2026 Liberty League Women's Rowing Championship on Fish Creek this afternoon. It was the Herons' 10th Liberty League Championship and first since 2016.
 
William Smith won gold medals in the first, second and third varsity eight races and finished second in the varsity four as they claimed the automatic berth to the NCAA Rowing Championships. This year's NCAA regatta will be held May 29-31, at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia. This is William Smith's first appearance at the NCAAs since 2016 and 14th overall.

Racing on the 2,000-meter Fish Creek course was held in a headwind that intensified during the afternoon but eased slightly when the varsity eight final began

FIRST VARSITY EIGHT

• The Herons' 1V was powered by Lizzy Whitney, Linnea Darius, Kate Abdalla, Raya Schwartz, Alessandra Gialanella, Aubrey Ryan, Eden Grim, Leah Wiebe and Meghan Bartholomay. 
• William Smith began their first race with a bang, leaping off the start ahead of the field. The Herons battled 14th-ranked Skidmore, beginning a short head-to-head battle that the Herons pulled away from in the first 500 meters.
• The women continued pulling away, letting a bow-to-stern lead occur against the Thoroughbreds and settling into a high-stroke cadence for the rest of the race, allowing them to move away from Skidmore.
• William Smith continued powering on, leaving a two-boat length amount of space between them and the Skidmore crew. Crossing the 1000-meter mark, the 1V took another boat length of water.
• The Herons crossed the finished with a time of 7:10.08, earning them a spot in the grand final, 20 seconds clear of the field.
• In the grand final, William Smith varsity eight pulled away immediately off the start, with the Skidmore crew hurrying up to meet the Herons in the first 100 meters with a fast cadence from the Thoroughbreds.
• Shortly after the one-minute mark of the race, the Herons began to lengthen out their initially hasty stroke, which was soon followed by the Skidmore crew. Arriving at the second minute mark, the first varsity began to make more space between them and Skidmore, positioning themselves bow-to-stern and continuing to advance.
• Pursuing the league title, the women created open water at 1000 meters and began to clear puddles even at their high stroke rate. The women continued to sustain their rate and moved to create boat lengths of space between them and Skidmore.
• William Smith won the grand final by 10 seconds, stopping the clock at 6:52.172.

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT

• The Herons 2V was powered by Michaela Greco, Olivia Helms, Lily Liflander, Ella Rhodes, Paige Barnhart, Ainsley Kimball, Nora Smith, Alayna Wian, and Olivia Sainsbury.
• Competeing in a finals-only race, the 2V began their race with a well-developed start alongside the 12th-ranked Rochester and 13th-ranked Ithaca, trailing slightly behind.
• Passing the 500-meter buoys, the Herons continued to row away from the initial crews they were racing alongside and began to settle into a satisfactory rate. Although not having a cadence as high as the Yellowjackets, the Herons pushed forward, creating open water at the two-minute mark after multiple meters of a two-headed race between the two.
• William Smith continued to take charge, even with the increased headwind, producing two-boat lengths of water between them and UofR, and continued to make space until the finish.
• They posted a commanding 18 second victory, posting a time of 7:15.818.

THIRD VARSITY EIGHT

• William Smith's 3V8 cruised to a 13-second victory over Ithaca.
• Skylar Strong, Kate Oberg, Mariee Voss, Isabella Ramirez, Annika Stacia, Dani Krenzer, Elina Jones, Lily Keefe and Vicentica Fuller powered the boat. 
• The Herons continued their trend of unbreakable starts, racing head-to-head with Ithaca.
• As the race reached the two-minute mark, the third varsity began to break away from their close race and initiated their move to take seats on the Bombers. Continuing the advance, the Herons created a bow-to-stern lead only a minute later.
• As the women crossed the 1000-meter mark, they established their lead, creating open water on the Ithaca crew and powering through to the second half of the race. Remaining strong, the Herons continued battling for more space against the Bombers and ultimately crossed the finish line with a time

VARSITY FOUR

• The Heron's four was raced by Maryli Nielson, Grace Jung, Anna Pedone, Mariee Voss, and Megan Jones.
• The women's four raced in a four-boat field with Rochester, Ithaca, and RIT. Off the start, William Smith rowed alongside the Yellowjackets and pressed on to meet up with the Bombers and the Tigers.
• Within the first 500-meters, the Herons inched back to meet the Ithaca crew bow-to-bow and began to creep past them about fifty meters later. Reaching the three-minute mark, the Herons began to reach their bow with the last seat of the RIT crew.
• At the 1000-meter mark, the Herons continued to hang onto the last two seats of the Tigers' boat, going back and forth between gaining and losing a seat on RIT. Within the last 200 meters, the Herons called for a sprint, but RIT held on, answering the sprint and gaining back their seats from William Smith.
• Ultimately, the Herons crossed the line second with a time of 8:32.6, 5 seconds behind the Tigers.

COACH'S CORNER
Head Coach Paul Bugenhagen raved about today's results, stating, "Today was a GREAT day! We've been building towards this level of championship performance over the last three years. A lot of outstanding athletes have contributed to the growth and development of our team during this time, and today was the big reveal of all their efforts."

He also added, "The race results were outstanding, and it was obvious to me, and I think everyone at the regatta, that the team was on fire today. The team was absolutely dominant. We're extremely proud to represent the Liberty League at the NCAA championship. We can't wait to press the gas on our final phase of training and improvement before landing in Georgia at the end of May!"

UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action on May 10, when it heads to Worcester, Massachusetts for the National Invitational Rowing Championships.