No. 2 women's varsity eight edged by No. 1 Williams
April 25, 2009

Chandler

Ritchie

Sive

Waldo

White

Patterson

Murphy

Doroski

Collins
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Two of the top NCAA Division III women’s rowing programs met for the first time this spring Saturday at Lake Onota, as the defending national champions from Williams played host to Bates, Coast Guard, Ithaca, and Marist. 

Highlighting the regatta was the meeting between the top two ranked NCAA Division III women’s varsity eights in the country (Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/USRowing), in Williams and Bates.  The two undefeated crews planned to pick up where they left off in the fall, when the crew from Williams edged out the Bobcats to win the Collegiate Eight event at the Head of the Charles.  With a lot of hype surrounding the crews from Williams and Bates, fourth-ranked Ithaca looked to play spoiler.  Coast Guard also had a crew participate.

Bates was separated from Williams by 3.4 seconds at the finish, with the Ephs winning the race.  The top two crews finished well ahead of Ithaca, Marist, and Coast Guard, respectively.  The Bobcats did the best they could to challenge the No. 1 crew in the country, but it wasn’t meant to be on this day.

"Today [Williams] proved that they deserve their number one ranking," said Bates head coach Peter Steenstra.  "They have a really strong crew with a winning mentality, which makes beating them an uphill battle.  There were certainly points in the race where we felt we could have been faster than them, and we simply didn’t execute.  In the coming weeks we'll focus on those points.  It was a good day, with good racing and we'll be a better team because of it."

The second varsity eight could not beat the undefeated crew from Williams, but they solidified their position as the second fastest varsity eight in Div. III by beating out Ithaca and Marist. 

The Bates women will have their chance against Williams again at the New England Rowing Championships (May 2) and the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships (May 9-10). 

REGATTA RESULTS

First Varsity Eight (Stroke: Emily Chandler.  7: Nicole Ritchie.  6: Haley Sive.  5: Rebecca Waldo.  4: Emma White.  3: Ellen Patterson.  2: Caitlin Murphy.  Bow: Danica Doroski.  Cox: Nora Collins)

1. Williams 6:54.6
2. Bates  6:58.0
3. Ithaca  7:03.1
4. Marist  7:16.1
5. Coast Guard 7:28.1

Second Varsity Eight (Stroke: Kirsten Laaspere.  7: Laura Hubbell.  6: Josie Cutts.  5: Elizabeth Sonshine.  4:  Allison DiSalvo.  3:  Phoebe Reed.  2: Alison Frye.  Bow: Davina Dukuly Cox: Tracy Glazier)

1. Williams 7:08.4
2. Bates  7:17.0
3. Ithaca  7:23.4
4. Marist  7:45.2

Third Varsity Eight (Stroke: Keller Wilson.  7: Caroline Webb.  6: Liliane Bentley.  5: Kelsey Dion.  4: Kate Eisenpress.  3: Carrie Dougherty.  2: Hilary Bok.  Bow: Kailee Grasso.  Cox: Brigit Anderson)

1. Williams 7:10.9
2. Ithaca  7:30.1
3. Bates  8:18.3

Novice Eight (Stroke: Keller Wilson.  7: Megan Lundy.  6: Amy Jacks.  5: Kelsey Dion.  4: Julia Winder.  3: Carolyn Kussmaul.  2: Hallie Herz.  Bow: Nora Murray .  Cox: Brigit Anderson)

1. Ithaca  7:29.1
2. Bates  7:45.5
3. Coast Guard 7:47.6
4. Marist  8:04.9