All five Wellesley crews competed in Grand Finals at the NIRC (Frank Poulin).
All five Wellesley crews competed in Grand Finals at the NIRC (Frank Poulin).

Wellesley Crew Earns Women's Point Trophy, V8+ Takes Silver at NIRC

WORCESTER, Mass. – All five boats advanced to Grand Finals and the Wellesley College Crew Varsity 8 (V8+) earned a silver medal finish as the Blue captured the women's points trophy on Sunday at the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta (NIRC) on Lake Quinsigamond.

The V8+ won the team's opening heat with a time of 6:51.383. Wellesley went on to finish second (6:53.397) in the Grand Final, besting New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival WPI, who finished in third (6:54.941). Bates took the V8+ title in 6:46.525.

The Second Varsity Eight (2V8+) advanced to the Grand Final with a runner-up finish in the teams opening heat, finishing behind Bates with a time of 7:04.609 to advance to the Grands. The 2V8+ went on to finish fifth (7:14.223) in the Grand Final, just over a second back of fourth place Williams (7:13.055). Bates was also first in the 2V8+ (6:58.465). 

Like the 2V8+, the Blue Third Varsity Eight (3V8+) finished second in the team's opening heat before going on claim fifth in the Grand Final. The Blue (7:25.893) finished just behind Tufts (7:24.501) in the third qualifying heat before posting a time of 7:31.120 in the Grands. Wellesley was just under four seconds back of fourth place WPI (7:27.408).

The Blue added medals in the Novice Eight and Women's Four events. Wellesley's Novice 8+ posted a time of 7:27.859 to win gold in a match race with Rochester. The Women's Varsity Four (V4+) earned bronze (8:32.877) in the Grands after advancing from the team's opening heat with a runner up finish (8:15.118).

Wellesley will now wait to see if the team has earned an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Rowing Championships. The NCAA Selection show will air on Tuesday, May 14 at 4:30 PM on NCAA.com.

Wellesley (5/12) NIRC Lineups: 

V8+: C - Sooji Kang, 8 - Frances Dingivan, 7 - Katie Livingston, 6- Rhiannon Mulligan, 5 - Casey Martin, 4 - Katie Ball, 3 - Anna Gaskill, 2 - Emilia Ball, 1 - Julianna Wright 

2V8+: C - Vanessa Delarca, 8 - Mia Caglieris, 7 - Zoe Cheng, 6 - Maria Iannotti, 5 - Alanna Uthgennant, 4 - Faye Washburn, 3 - Olivia Gorman, 2 - Pippa Cronin, 1 - Alyssa Rivera

3V8+: C - Sasha Blachman, 8 - Beatrice Grauman-Boss, 7 - Jocelyn Reahl, 6 – Anna Taylor, 5 - Olivia Holbrook, 4 - Alison Carey, 3 - Emmet Odegaard, 2 - Kelsey Gosch, 1- Mar Barrera

Novice 8+: C - Emily Arnold Mages, 8 - Sarah Wells-Moran, 7 - Meg Bolan, 6 - Julia Sokolowska, 5 - Anna Vold, 4 - Lexi Fitzgerald, 3 - Stephanie Fan, 2 - Gaya Krishna, 1 - Skylar Kolisko

V4+: C - Chantal Valdivia, 4 - Eve Montie, 3 - Tess Vetter, 2 - Marinn Cedillo, 1 - Samantha Hintz