Blue Crew Claims 2022 NEWMAC Rowing Championship
WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Wellesley College crew team took first place in three races to capture both the 2022 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Rowing Championship and the Florence Jope Smith Cup on Saturday at the Donahue Rowing Center on Lake Quinsigamond.
Wellesley wins the conference title for the ninth time in 10 occasions and the 10th time in program history to earn the NEWMAC's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, FL in Late May. Defending champion WPI was second, Clark was third, Smith fourth and Coast Guard fifth in the conference championship that accounts the finishes in the varsity eight and second varsity eight.
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.
The Blue, which has now won the overall points award for nine consecutive championships, finished first with 28 points. Wellesley were followed by WPI in second with 22 points. Smith was third with 20 points, followed by Clark in fourth with 12 points and Coast Guard with four points.
Wellesley's Katie Ball (Hanover, NH) was selected as the conference's Rower of the Year while WPI's Logan Rinaldi (Rumford, RI) garnered the conference's Coxswain of the Year award.
Joining Ball and Rinaldi on the All-Conference team were Wellesley teammates Olivia Gorman (Bristol, CT) and Anya Hanitchak (Andover, MA), Melissa Bazakas-Chamberlain (Arlington, MA), Caitlin Kean (Shrewsbury, MA) and Emily Adams (East Greenwich, RI) of WPI, Maddie Hincher (Gorham, MA), Cate Brown (Newton, MA) and Apple Gould-Shultz (Arlington, VA) of Clark, Rachael Clendenning (Chicago, IL), Julia Batson (Brainbridge Island, WA) and Alison Ruth (Clackamas, OR) of Smith and Madelin Kirwin (Galena, OH) of Coast Guard.
Wellesley won wire-to-wire in the first two varsity races. The varsity eight reached the final bouys over three seconds ahead of WPI (6:40.300 to 6:43.460) followed by Clark (6:49.724), Smith (6:57.314) and Coast Guard (6:57.314). The Blue's second varsity eight reached the finish line over six seconds ahead of the Engineers (7:00.360 to 7:06.428), with Smith in third (7:12.860), Clark fourth (7:17.456) and Coast Guard fifth (7:28.976).
The third varsity eight featured the closest finish of the day as the Blue (7:08.990) used a late push to edge Smith (7:11.944). WPI (7:27.056) as third followed by Clark (8:03.574). The fourth varsity eight featured Smith defeating the Crimson and Gray in a head-to-head matchup (7:28.300 to 7:52.233).
Varsity Eight
1) Wellesley - 6:40.300
2) WPI - 6:43.460
3) Clark - 6:49.724
4) Smith - 6:56.176
5) Coast Guard - 6:57.314
Second Varsity Eight
1) Wellesley - 7:00.360
2) WPI - 7:06.428
3) Smith - 7:12.860
4) Clark - 7:17.456
5) Coast Guard - 7:28.976
Third Varsity Eight
1) Wellesley - 7:08.990
2) Smith - 7:11.944
3) WPI - 7:27.056
4) Clark - 8:03.574
Fourth Varsity Eight
1) Smith - 7:28.300
2) WPI - 7:52.233
The Blue Crew return to Lake Quinsigamond on Saturday, April 30 for the 2022 New England Rowing Championships starting at 8:00 AM.
Wellesley Lineups (4/23/22):
V8+: C - Isabella Santos; 8 - Anya Hanitchak ; 7 - Katie Ball; 6 - Kaitlyn Severin; 5 - Olivia Gorman; 4 - Anneka Hallstrom; 3 - Catie Moeser; 2 - Kaylee Liu; 1- Emma Anghel
2V8+: C - Colette Kennedy; 8 - Adeline Van Buskirk; 7 - Zipporah Cohen; 6 - Anastasia Brooks; 5 - Gaya Krishna ; 4 - Eleanor Antezana; 3 - Cricket Liebermann; 2 - Cora Barrett; 1 - Bryn Flanigan
3V8+: C - Rachel Shrives; 8 - Amelia Lee; 7 - Melissa Daniels; 6 - Abby Martinage 5 - Emma Dean ; 4 - Katherine Welsh; 3 - Karina Zimmerman ; 2 - Autumn Smith; 1 - Claire Johnson