For the second straight year, Bates received a silver-medal performance by the first varsity eight boat, while the 2V8 boat also finished higher than any other second varsity eight in the field save for Williams.

Bates 2 competed in the Petite Final, 15 minutes before the Grand Final at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, and finished in fourth place out of six boats in a time of 7:06.02, just 2.48 seconds behind Washington College 1 for third place and ahead of the 2V8′s from Ithaca (7:10.06) and Trinity (7:13.41).

In the Grand Final, the Bates 1V8 stood in second place at every 500-meter interval of the 2,000-meter course at Lake Natoma. Bates couldn’t make up enough ground on Williams’ 1V8 in a final sprint, but like Friday’s elimination heat, the boat was able to maintain a slight lead over Williams’ 2V8 and held that boat off to keep the Ephs from sweeping the top two spots in the race. Williams 1 won in 6:43.81, followed by Bates at 6:48.66, Williams 2 at 6:49.02, Trinity 1 (6:52.94), Ithaca 1 (6:55.87) and Puget Sound 1 (7:04.43).

Bates is headed by captains Danica Doroski ’10 (Wayne, Pa.), Alison Frye ’10 (Duxbury, Mass.) and Ellen Patterson ’11 (St. Louis Park, Minn.). Other team members expected to make the trip include sophomore Haley Sive (Glenville, N.Y.), junior and two-time Pocock All-American Rebecca Waldo (Dracut, Mass.), sophomore Elizabeth Sonshine (Short Hills, N.J.), sophomore Amy Jacks (Baltimore, Md.), junior Phoebe Reed (Brooklyn, N.Y.), senior Lindsay Thomson (West Hartford, Conn.), sophomore Allison DiSalvo (Lowell, Mass.), junior Davina Dukuly (Lowell, Mass.), first-year Amanda Goss (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), sophomore Kelsey Dion (Truckee, Calif.), junior Emma White (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), junior Hannah Richardson (Concord, Mass.), first-year Catherine Tuttle (Pittsford, N.Y.). sophomore Caroline Webb (Tiburon, Calif.), junior Nora Collins (Kensington, Md.), first-year Elizabeth Bowling (Greenwood Village, Colo.), first-year Carrie Dillaway (Woodbridge, Conn.) and first-year Victoria Zapack (Charlotte, N.C.).

Doroski, Frye and Thomson plan to walk at Commencement back on campus in Lewiston Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

Friday Recap

Bates women’s rowing team’s first varsity eight fought off runner-up Williams’ 2V8 as well as rival Trinity’s 1V8 in the third and final elimination heat on Friday morning, as the NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships got under way at Lake Natoma.

Bates’ 2V8 finished off the day by taking first place in the Petite Qualifier.

Bates 1V8 led Williams 2V8 by a slim margin at each 500-meter juncture of the 2,000-meter race, and both boats overtook Trinity in the second 500 meters. Bates timed in at 6:41.10, with Williams 2V8 at 6:42.02, Trinity 1V8 at 6:47.98, Wellesley 2V8 at 7:04.53, Mary Washington 1V8 at 7:12.88 and Puget Sound 2V8 sixth at 7:21.47. Three of the top four times in the preliminary heats were registered in the third heat.

Entering the championship, Bates’ 1V8 ranked fourth in Division III by the College Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing, with Trinity at No. 3.

As the heat winner, Bates advanced automatically to the Grand Final, joining the other two heat winners, Williams 1V8 and Ithaca 1V8.

Bates’ 2V8 also fared well, taking fourth place out of five boats in Elimination Heat 2 in a time of 7:05.47, trailing only three high-quality 1V8′s in Ithaca (6:48.63), St. Lawrence (6:55.19) and Wellesley (6:55.34) and well ahead of St. Lawrence 2V8 (7:13.67). Bates 2V8 moved on to the Petite Qualifier at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. Bates was in control throughout the race: neck-and-neck with Ithaca’s 2V8 after 500 meters, the 2V8 pulled slightly ahead at the halfway mark and extended the lead over the final 1,000 meters, finishing in 7:11.06. Ithaca 2 was second in 7:14.72, followed by Trinity 2 (7:16.64), which edged Wesleyan 2 (7:18.31) for the third and final automatic berth in Saturday’s Petite Final.

COOPER RIVER, N.J. — Bates College had its best showing ever in the NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships, claiming second place in both the team standings and in the Grand Final in convincing fashion on Saturday. Both of Bates’ two boats fared the best they ever had in this, the Bobcats’ third (and third straight) appearance at NCAAs. It is also the best showing by a team ever at an NCAA championship.

The Bobcats’ first varsity boat placed second in the Grand Final to rival Williams, which claimed its fourth straight NCAA title, 6:28.04 to 6:30.77. Although Williams was in first place at each of the 500-meter splits, Bates had the lead down the stretch before the Ephs made a final push across the finish line. Over the second half of the race, Bates I surged past rival Trinity I, ultimately defeating the third-place Bantams (6:36.03) by more than five seconds. Rounding out the field were Ithaca I (6:39.16), Williams II (6:42.00) and Puget Sound I (6:47.47). Bates’ previous best finish in the Grand Final was third place in 2007.

Just before the Bobcats’ performance in the Grand Final, the Bates II boat went a long way to ensuring a place ahead of all teams but Williams, outrowing Trinity II in the final 500 meters to claim an impressive third-place finish in the Petite Final. Bates II finished the course in 6:53.73, impressively close behind the No. 1 boats of Smith (6:47.12) and St. Lawrence (6:51.75), and more than three seconds and half a boat length ahead of rival Trinity II (6:57.17). The Bates second boat’s performance far outdid last year’s entry, when it placed second in the Third Final.

Four Bates seniors plan to walk at Commencement back on campus in Lewiston tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.: captain and three-time All-American Nicole Ritchie (East Dummerston, Vt.), captain Caitlin Murphy (Duxbury, Mass.), Emily Chandler (North Yarmouth, Maine) and Laura Hubbell (Yarmouth, Maine).

Friday Recap

Bates I guaranteed itself a spot in the Grand Final on Friday morning in the opening heats of the NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championship, as the Bobcats’ first varsity eight easily won the second of three preliminary heats.

Bates I finished the 2,000-meter course in 7:06.90, more than 13 seconds ahead of the second-place boat, Puget Sound I. Bates II, by chance, was in the same race and finished fourth in 7:20.44, just a hair behind Trinity II (7:20.23) for a spot in the Grand Qualifier.

Bates II was one of seven boats competing in the Petite Qualifier at 2:30 p.m., where the top three finishers advance to the Petite Final. Bates’ second boat won that race, rowing the course in 6:53.27, more than three seconds faster than runner-up Ithaca II (6:56.47). The win put Bates II in the petite qualifier Saturday at 11:15 a.m.

Bates I was one of three boats guaranteed a spot in the Grand Final. Familiar rivals Williams I and Trinity I were the other boats that qualified for the Grand Final with preliminary heat race wins.

See the Bates at NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships preview story.

The Bobcats are led by senior three-time All-American and captain Nicole Ritchie (East Dummerston, Vt.), sophomore All-American Rebecca Waldo (Dracut, Mass.) and senior captain Caitlin Murphy (Duxbury, Mass.). Also on the first varsity eight boat are senior stroke Emily Chandler (North Yarmouth, Maine), first-year Haley Sive (Glenville, N.Y.), sophomore Rebecca Waldo (Dracut, Mass.), sophomore Emma White (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), senior Laura Hubbell (Yarmouth, Maine), junior Danica Doroski (Wayne, Pa.) in the bow and sophomore Nora Collins (Kensington, Md.) at coxswain.

The Bates second varsity eight at New Englands consisted of sophomore stroke Kirsten Laaspere (Londonderry, N.H.), sophomore Ellen Patterson (St. Louis Park, Minn.), junior Josie Cutts (Kittery Point, Maine), first-year Elizabeth Sonshine (Short Hills, N.J.), first-year Allison Di Salvo (Lowell, Mass.), sophomore Phoebe Reed (Brooklyn, N.Y.), junior Alison Frye (Duxbury, Mass.), sophomore Davina Dukuly (Lowell, Mass.) in the bow and sophomore Tracy Glazier (Weston, Mass.) at coxswain.

Saturday’s Results (PDF)