Wellesley Crew Takes Second at NERC; All Five Boats Advance To Grand Finals
WORCESTER, Mass. – All five boats advanced to grand finals to help Wellesley College crew take second place in the Women's Point Trophy standings at the 2018 New England Rowing Championships on Saturday on Lake Quinsigamond.
Blue Crew showed off their roster depth to rack-up 92.16 points on Saturday. Wellesley finished 9.84 points behind first place Bates College (102.00) and well ahead of third place Williams College (68.72). Wellesley's overall point total was also good for seventh in the combined team standings.
The Wellesley Varsity Eight (V8+) raced to a runner-up finish in the third heat of three opening heats in the Varsity Eight competition. The Blue's time of 6:40.043 was just off the Williams pace of 6:39.139, as both crews advanced to the V8 Grand Final later in the day. The Blue caught the Ephs in the Grand Final, finishing in 6:59.140 to Williams mark of 7:00.496. However, the top three spots in the field belonged to Bates (6:46.476), WPI (6:53.421), and Wesleyan (6:56.702).
The Wellesley Second Varsity Eight (2V8+) opened the day with an open water victory in the second heat of the 2V8+, recording a time of 7:03.682 to outpace WPI, who finished in 7:10.358. The win advanced the 2V8+ to the Grand Final, where the Blue renewed their rivalry with Bates and Williams. Wellesley finished just over a second (6:55.236) behind Williams (6:54.232) for runner-up honors in the Grand, with Bates taking the title in 6:45.070.
Finalist in the Third Varsity Eight (3V8+) races were determined by time trials, with the Blue advancing thanks to the fourth fastest time of 5:56.877. The Blue jumped up one spot to third in the grand final, taking bronze in 7:19.253. The Blue were just over a second back of Wesleyan (7:18.717) while Bates again took the title in 7:06.582.
Wellesley added another medal in the Fourth Varsity Eight (4V8+) grand final. Bates took the title in 7:06.309, followed by runner-up and silver medalist Wellesley in 7:18.404. The Blue and Bobcats outpaced Tufts (7:34.345) and Williams (7:41.189) in the four-boat field.
The Blue Varsity Four made it five-for-five for the Blue, advancing to the final of the Third Varsity Fours with a time of 6:43.642 to take third in an opening time trial. Wellesley would finish fourth in the grand final in 8:26.481, with Connecticut College taking the title in 8:07.501.
The Blue will return to Lake Quinsigamond for the National Invitational Rowing Championships on Friday, May 11.
Wellesley Lineups:
V8+: C- Sydney Stento; 8 - Emilia Ball; 7- Zoe Cheng; 6 - Frances Dingivan; 5 - Kelsey Campbell; 4 - Rhiannon Mulligan; 3- Lauren Bazley; 2 - Jocelyn Reahl; 1 - Katie Livingston
2V8+: C - Stephanie Kim; 8 - Sloane Rice; 7 - Meg Babikian; 6 - Audrey Ellis; 5 - Liz Shumway; 4 - Mia Caglieris; 3 - Faye Washburn; 2 - Anna Gaskill; 1 - Alyssa Rivera
3V8+: C - Sooji Kang; 8 - Kelsey Gosch; 7 - Alanna Uthgennant; 6 - Pippa Cronin; 5 - Allie Collins-Anderson; 4 - Molly Hoyer; 3- Olivia Holbrook; 2 - Maria Iannotti; 1 - Eve Montie;
4V8+: C - Alex Klufas; 8 - Katie Gdula; 7 - Samantha Hintz; 6 - Alison Carey; 5 - Anna Taylor; 4 - Tess Vetter; 3 - Bea Grauman-Boss; 2 - Marinn Cedillo; 1 - Maria Barrera
V4+: C - Sasha Blachman; 4 - Emmet Odegaard; 3 - Erica Maul; 2 - Carolina Jimenez; 1 - Abby Hau