Blue Crew Captures 2023 NEWMAC Rowing Championship

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Wellesley College rowing earned first in the V8+, 2V8+, and 3V8+ races to win its second consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Rowing Championship on Saturday morning at Lake Quinsigamond.

Saturday marked the 11th time in program history that Blue Crew has won the NEWMAC Championship. With the win, Wellesley earned the NEWMAC's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship, which takes place on May 26-27, 2023 at the Camden County Boathouse in Pennsauken, N.J.

Wellesley's victories in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Third Varsity Eight races helped the Blue clinch the Florence Jope Smith Cup, awarded annually to the school with the highest number of points from the overall results at the NEWMAC Championship.

Blue Crew, which has now won the overall points award for ten consecutive championships, finished first with 45 points. Wellesley was followed by WPI in second with 40 points. Smith was third with 35 points, followed by Coast Guard in fourth with 28 points, Clark in fifth with 27 points, Mount Holyoke in sixth with 20 points, and Simmons in seventh with 15 points.

Following the races, seniors Anneka Hallstrom (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Emma Anghel (Windham, Maine), and sophomore Anya Hanitchak (Andover, Mass.) all made the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team along with senior coxswain Isabella Santos ( West Hartford, Conn.). Santos later received NEWMAC Coxswain of the Year honors while Hallstrom was named the NEWMAC Rower of the Year.

The V8+ set the tone with a convincing 6:42.7, reaching the final buoys nearly four seconds faster than second place WPI. The 2V8+ had a close two-boat race to the finish line with WPI. While the Engineers stayed close throughout the race, the final stretch saw the Blue dig deep and pull ahead, finishing with a 6:57.5 to capture gold.

3V8+ led the pack early and never slowed, with their 7:05 giving them plenty of open water in front of the competition. Blue Crew's 4V8+ placed second with a 7:27.9, trailing first place Smith.

Blue Crew returns to Lake Quinsigamond next Saturday at 8:30 AM to compete in the New England Rowing Championships.

Wellesley Lineups (4/29/23):

V8+: C - Isabella Santos; 8 - Anya Hanitchak; 7 - Anneka Hallstrom; 6 - Catie Moeser; 5 - Kaitlyn Severin; 4 - Sage Gilbert-Diamond; 3 - Hannah Bates; 2 - Emma Anghel; 1 - Kaylee Liu

2V8+: C - Rachel Shrives; 8 - Amelia Lee; 7 - Gaya Krishna; 6 - Eleanor Antezana; 5 - Cricket Liebermann; 4 - Gabriela Zasada; 3 - Mara Jones; 2 - Lucy Weil; 1 - Cora Barrett

3V8+: C - Claire Johnson; 8 - Adeline Van Buskirk; 7 - Aliki Hollister; 6 - Bronwen Bailey; 5 - Anastasia Brooks; 4 - Adrienne Carter; 3 - Bryn Flanigan; 2 - Natalie McGee; 1 - Katherine Welsh

4V8+: C - Alison Sickles; 8 - Britany Hansten; 7 - Delilah Hammarlund; 6 - Marty Martinage; 5 - Caroline Witty, 4 - Caroline Hester; 3 - Lily Fromm; 2 - Macy Lipkin; 1 - Lillie Stewart