 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
William Smith closes out season at Head of the Fish
October 26, 2003
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The William Smith College crew team headed to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. this past weekend to compete at the Head of the Fish Regatta. One of the largest one day regattas in the nation, the race marked the debut of the Novice 8+ and the close of the fall varsity season.
The varsity 8+ capped its season off with a 10th place finish—seventh of all Division III teams—of 41 boats with a time of 14:03. Buffalo State captured the title, completing the course in 13:04, while UMass and Ithaca rounded out the top three.
“I’m pleased with the varsity eight’s performance,” Head Coach Sandra Chu said. “Despite having caught a crab off the start, they made up a lot of time during the body of the race. They put together their most aggressive race this season which their top-10 finish shows.”
From cox to bow, the Varsity 8+ was powered by sophomores Amanda Jantzi (Tonawanda/Tonawanda, N.Y.) and Rebecca Gutwin (Champlain Valley Union/Williston, Vt.), seniors Julie Deprez (The Bancroft School/Paxton, Mass.), Elizabeth Weick (Fairport/Fairport, N.Y.), and Lauren Ulvestad (Breck School/Shorewood, Minn.), and sophomores Cassie Priest (King & Low-Heywood Thomas School/Stamford,Conn.), Susie Tarrant (Kimball Union Academy/Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), Edwina Wilson (Churchill/Bethesda, Md.), and Frances Parsons (Hoosac School/Liverpool, N.Y.).
William Smith launched three boats in the novice eight race, capturing second, ninth and 19th of 43 boats. The Argonaut Rowing Club took first place, outracing the Herons by just three seconds.
“The racing conditions were among the worst I’ve seen for novices,” Chu said. “All of the boats handled the screaming head wind and heavy chop well.”
The first novice boat was led from cox to bow by Jess Hardy (Shrewsbury/Shrewsbury, Mass.), Susan Hendrickson (Hanover/Wrj, Vt.), Laura Batchelor (Brookline/Brookline, Mass.), Nicole Balsamo (Newton Country Day School/Centerville, Mass.), Nadia Zahran (Taft School/Oak Brook, Ill.), Lisa White (Deering/Portland, Maine), Liz Staino (Poughkeepsie/Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Rebecca Racine (Otter Valley Union/Leicester, Vt.), and Michelle Dodge (St. Paul’s School/Jackson, N.H.).
Also unique to this regatta is a mixed competition featuring men and women in the same boat. Eight Hobart and William Smith seniors joined forces in this race, garnering second place behind UMass with a time of 11:52.
The Herons will be back on the water on March 12-20 in Gainesville, Ga., where they will train and scrimmage Ithaca.