April 18, 2005

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y./WORCESTER, Mass.--The William Smith crew completed a successful weekend of rowing with victories in six of 10 races, including recapturing the Seneca Cup.

On Saturday in Saratoga Springs, the Heron varsity eight finished second to Division I Vermont by 1.02 seconds, but captured the Seneca Cup by outdistancing fourth place Skidmore by nearly 30 seconds. The varsity eight of Amanda Lassell, Jessica Mahon, Laura Batchelor, Kathryn Priest, Edwina Wilson, Courtney Cioffredi, Nicole Balsamo, Elizabeth Staino, and Lauren Brady covered the 2,000-meter course in a time of 7:20.68.

William Smith recaptured the Seneca Cup with an impressive win over Skidmore's varsity eight.

William Smith posted four victories on the day, winning the second varsity eight, the novice eight, the varsity four and the novice four. The novice four of Julie Kozarsky, Jennifer Kirst, Cristina Mulcahy, Cate Elgert, and Whitney Hayre notched the most impressive victory of the day, outracing the boats from Skidmore, Vermont, and Middlebury by more than 29 seconds.

"The team put out tremendous performances today," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "Every boat came screaming off the line and we were able to top our speed early in the race with even more speed in the third 500. We came out here with the goal of achieving wins against Skidmore and Middlebury. The team got the job done and did it well."

On Sunday, the Herons moved on to Worcester for a day of racing against RIT, WPI, RPI, TCNJ, and Tufts. William Smith earned triumphs in the second varsity eight and the novice eight and finished second in the varsity four. The varsity eight was fourth in a five-boat race.

The second varsity eight of Sonja Lord, Hannah Gallup, Susan Tarrant, Sarah Powell, Jessica Wojslaw, Lucinda Keck, Megan Seiter, Sarah Loomis, and Michelle Dodge held an open water lead over Tufts, WPI and RPI on flat-water conditions. Following a fiery start, William Smith took seats, and then lengthened their lead without looking back. The Herons sealed the deal in the third 500 and came across the line first after a confident sprint. Their finishing time of 7:20.8 was 4.07 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tufts. WPI finished third (7:48.78) followed by Rensselaer at 8:09.36.

"With back-to-back open water wins, the second varsity eight is establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with," Chu said. "As they get more and more comfortable with their new line-up, I am sure we will see more and more speed."

The novice eight of Kozarsky, Kirst, Wojslaw, Cioffredi, Seiter, Keck, Hayre, Jennifer Lever, and Hannah Gallup had a tremendous race, going bow-ball to bow-ball with Tufts for the first portion of the race. The Herons were able to break away and finish the race with an open water margin. Crossing the line in 7:20.5, 3.7 seconds ahead of the Jumbos. The College of New Jersey finished third (8:05.94), followed by Rensselaer (8:15.02) and Clark (9:26.14).

"The novice eight is the only undefeated boat in our program and this is a testament to their athleticism and commitment to a new sport," Chu said. "All of the women in this boat learned to row at William Smith under Assistant Coach Katie Gill and they've flourished under her leadership."

Next, William Smith will turn its attention to defending its Liberty League crown. The second annual conference championships will be held on April 23, in Canton, N.Y.

For complete racing results, visit row2k.com.

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