Women's crew dominates competition at Lake Quinsigamond
WORCESTER, MA— Under cloudy skies at Lake Quinsigamond, the
Williams women’s crew competed well against UNH, Smith,
Colby, and host Holy Cross, winning each race they entered and
proving once again how deep their program is. Each boat raced
once on the popular Worcester course in what will be their first of
many trips down the course this spring.
The women’s first varsity boat overcame a chaotic first 500
meters in their race to distance themselves from UNH and Holy Cross
“After the first 500 meters,” said Emily Cheston
’08, stroke of the 1V boat, “we made a collective
decision to change the rhythm in the boat and move
forward.” The 1V walked through UNH, who had been neck
and neck with them through the first quarter of the race, and took
an open water victory with a 6:44, nine seconds up on the
field.
The women’s second varsity boat was up from the start on Holy
Cross and UNH, having half a length on the field with 400 meters
down as they passed the boathouse and the large crowd of spectators
that had gathered. The 2V took open water on Holy Cross and
continued to pull away, racing to the win in one of the widest
margins of the day. The 2V time of 7:05 was 17 seconds better
than runner-up Holy Cross and their ability to push the pace
despite limited competition is a testament to the mental toughness
and competitive nature of the boat.
The Williams 3V boat competed in the most subscribed and closest
race of the day. On the line with Colby, Smith, and Holy
Cross, the 3V got out to a strong start, even with Smith and Holy
Cross. With 1,000 meters down they had pushed Smith off their
stern, but remained only a few seats up on Holy Cross.
Through the third 500 meters of the race the Williams boat slowly
distanced itself Holy Cross and came through the finish a little
less than a length up on Holy Cross and four seconds ahead to
finish in 7:13.
The Williams 1N capped off a successful day for the Ephs with the
fourth win of the day, taking a 17 second win over UNH and Holy
Cross. The 1N, shifting their lineup slightly from their last
regatta, took an early lead on their opponents and moved away,
racing to a solid time of 7:15 for a commanding open water win.
The Williams women will return to Lake Quinsigamond next weekend to race WPI, MIT, and Conn.
