October 17, 2004

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The William Smith College novice crews placed first and second at the Wylie Coyote Chase, a special fall race hosted by the University of Rochester for first-year rowers only. The Herons’ top boat beat the rest of the field by 1:29 over the 2.7 mile course.

William Smith’s first novice eight made up of coxswain Mandy Lassell, stroke Jessica Mahon, Megan Seiter, Hannah Gallup, Jessica Wojslaw, Courtney Cioffredi, Megan Hyland, Lucinda Keck, and bow Jenna Soltes walked through two other boats, crossing the line in 17:55 to take the top spot for the second consecutive year.

The Herons second novice boat improved over last year’s finish, taking second with a time of 19:05. Powering the second novice 8 were coxswain Katie Goodrich, stroke Whitney Hayre, Jen Kirst, Alyssa Smith, Caitlin Elgert, Christina Mulcahy, Krystn Lake, Jen Lever, and bow Jenny Quirindongo. University of Rochester rounded out the top three with a finishing time of 19:24.

William Smith also raced a composite eight comprised of five Herons, two RIT athletes, and a Niagara athlete, finishing seventh in the field of eight with a time of 22:44.

“Assistant Coach Katie Gill has done a tremendous job with the novice squad this fall,” said Head Coach Sandra Chu. “She has put together a very deep team, with great fitness and fundamentals. When we gave the team the goal of a 1-2 finish, they were fired up and were able to execute without hesitation. They rowed a clean, aggressive race.”

The Herons return to action on Oct. 24, in Boston, Mass., at the Head of the Charles.

Results:
1. William Smith “A”: 17:55
2. William Smith “B”: 19:05
3. Rochester “A”: 19:24
4. RIT “A”: 19:31
5. Niagara: 20:25
6. Rochester “B”: 21:25
7. Composite : 22:44
8. Rochester “C”: 24:27

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