Blue Crew Caps Opening Weekend in Blustery Conditions On Lake Quinsigamond

WORCESTER, Mass. – No. 3 Wellesley College crew returned to action for the second day in a row on Sunday, contesting with cold and windy conditions as well as four of the nation's top teams on Lake Quinsigamond. 

For the second time in as many days, the Blue matched up with top-ranked Bates, while also taking on No. 6 Trinity (Conn.), New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival No. 11 WPI, and the University of Rochester.

In unpleasant conditions with a strong tailwind, the Blue Varsity Eight rowed to a time of 6:50.3, finishing just off the Bates pace of 6:48.0 in the day's first race. The Blue opened the race with a lead through the 1000m mark, but the defending national champions proved to be too much in the final sprint to the finish. Trinity (6:55.7) followed the Blue in third.

In the 2nd Varsity eight, the Bobcats once again got the better of the Blue, racing to a time of 6:56.1. Like the V8, the Wellesley 2V8 held down second place (7:04.7), finishing ten seconds ahead of third place WPI (7:14.7), as the Blue and the Bobcats outpaced the rest of the field.

Wellesley picked up victories in the 3rd Varsity Eight and the Novice Eight races. In the 3rd Varsity Eight, Wellesley recorded a time of 7:22.1 to finish ahead of their rivals from Lewiston, Maine. The Bobcats took second (7:36.0) followed by Rochester (7:49.9) in third. Blue Crew was also the top finisher in the Novice Eight race, defeating Bates (7:18.3) and WPI (7:20.5) for their second win of the weekend with a time of 7:15.4.

Wellesley will return to Lake Quinsigamond on Saturday, April 23, for the 2016 NEWMAC Championships. The Blue will be vying for their sixth-straight conference title and the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division III Rowing Championships in Sacramento, Calif. 

Wellesley Lineups:

V8
c- Stephanie Kim, 8 - Margaret Babikian, 7- Meg Roberts, 6- Audrey Ellis, 5- Loren Lock, 4- Sydney Dollmeyer, 3- Kathryn Barth, 2- Lauren Bazley, 1- Grace Howland 

2V8
c- Sydney Stento, 8- Sahar Ibrahim, 7- Olivia Thayer, 6- Katie Livingston, 5- Anna Hakes, 4- Kelsey Campbell, 3- Molly Hoyer, 2- Olivia Duggan, 1- Jocelyn Reahl 

3V8
c- Ginger Simms, 8- Alexandra Rondeau, 7- Annie Schnitzer, 6- Nina McKee, 5- Sloane Rice, 4- Liz Shumway, 3- Alexis Lowe, 2- Alexi Block-Gorman, 1- Emily Ahn 

N8+
c- Alex Klufas, 8- Emilia Ball, 7- Julia Wainwright, 6- Anna Gaskill, 5- Sarah Smith-Tripp, 4- Sianna Casey, 3- Becky Rudolph , 2- Mia Caglieris, 1- Alyssa Rivera