October 30, 2004

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—Continuing to build on a strong fall season, the William Smith College crew team turned in three top-six finishes at the Head of the Fish this past weekend. The first Varsity eight improved four places from a year ago, taking sixth overall.

Rowing on a shortened course due to heavy winds and threatening weather, the Herons covered the 3200-meter course in 12:44.5, just a half second out of fifth place. Comprised of first-year coxswain Sunny Lord (The Peddie School/Pearl River, N.Y.), junior stroke Rebecca Gutwin (Champlain Valley Union/Williston, Vt.), sophomore Laura Batchelor (Brookline/Brookline, Mass.), junior Cassie Priest (King & Low-Heywood Thomas/Stamford, Conn.), sophomore Lauren Brady (Westover School/Ridgefield, Conn.), first-year Jessica Mahon (Rhinebeck/Rhinebeck, N.Y.), sophomore Nicole Balsamo (Newton Country Day/Centerville, Mass.), senior Lisa White (Deering/Portland, Maine), and junior bow Frances Parsons (Hoosac School/Liverpool, N.Y.), William Smith was the second Division III boat across the line, falling to fourth-place Williams, by 1.42 seconds. UMass-Amherst took first place honors with a time of 12:23.31. The Herons defeated 25 other crews including 14 other first varsity eights.

“The first Varsity eight rowed a very solid race,” said Head Coach Sandra Chu. “They were able to put together all of the key components we have been working on this fall. They had an extremely aggressive sprint and took a good number of seats in their last 250 meters. I am excited to see what happens when we enter our Championship season in the spring.”

In novice racing, the first novice eight powered by coxswain Courtney Wilson (Menlo School/San Carlos, Calif.), Jen Kirst (The Principia Upper School/Darien, Conn.), Megan Seiter (Providence Country Day/Riverside, R.I.), Courtney Cioffredi (Lebanon/Lebanon, N.H.), Jessica Wojslaw (Norwalk/Norwalk, Conn.), Lucinda Keck (Lawrenceville School/Princeton, N.J.), Christina Mulcahy (St. Michaels/Santa Fe, N.M.), Alyssa Smith (Yarmouth/Yarmouth, Maine), and Jenna Soltes (Arlington/Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) finished fourth and were the first Division III boat across the line. Covering the 3800-meter course in 14:40.15, the Herons finished 17.9 seconds behind first-place Syracuse University. In the field of 41 boats, the Herons defeated 24 other first novice eights from both DI and DIII schools.

“This was a great performance for our walk-on boat,” said Chu. “Unlike our Division I competitors, we did not put out a boat full of recruits. It was very exciting to see the strength of our novice program.”

William Smith fielded second boats in both events. The second varsity eight finished 16th with a time of 13:39.8 , while the second novice eight came in 24th with a time of 17:03.13.

White and Priest also competed in the women’s open double race, earning fourth place in the field of eight.

The Herons return to action on March 26th, hosting D’Youville University, RPI, and Rochester.

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