September30, 2006

GENEVA, N.Y.—In its debut race, the William Smith novice crew defeated Ithaca in two out of four races on the Seneca-Cayuga Canal.

Racing over a distance of 1,000 meters, the first novice eight crossed the line first, defeating Ithaca’s first novice eight by 13.7 seconds. In the second race, the Herons beat the Bombers to the line again by 4.3 seconds. After a line-up switch, the Herons put out their second novice eight and narrowly missed defeating the Bombers’ first boat by 0.6 seconds, but still held strong over their second and third boats.

The William Smith first novice eight.

The Herons' first novice eight was powered by coxswain Abbie DiPalma, Collette Gregoire, Megan Andrews, Jamie Billington, Kristen Yerkie, Rachel MacElhenney, Laura Valdmanis, Meggie Schmidt, and Jamie Rasmussen. Rowing in the second boat for the Herons were coxswain Daisy Bird, Jamie Billington, Kristen Yerkie, Kirsten Cooper, Meghan Cox, Katherine Perri, Abrielle Hughes, Nicole Krakoff and Liz Zinsser.

“I was very impressed by the composure the novice team showed today," Head Coach Sandra Chu said. "They've really only been learning the sport for about four weeks but they were able to sustain their technique, ratio and power as a seasoned crew. This novice class brings a lot to our team and today’s performances are just a taste of great things to come. The team’s success today is in large part due to the efforts and talents of new Assistant Coach Kristina Latta-Landefeld whose mentorship has put this team in an excellent position.”

The entire William Smith crew will be on the water Oct. 8, in the Head of the Genesee in Rochester.

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