Saints Handle Skidmore, Fall to #2 Ithaca

by: 

Tara Freeman

The Saints had a solid showing against Ithaca, who is ranked 2nd in the region.

April 10:  The nationally-ranked (7^th) St. Lawrence University women's crew team handily defeated conference opponent Skidmore College in all events Saturday, while giving Ithaca College, who is ranked 2nd in the national polls, a solid run. The Saints earned second place finishes in the varsity eight event, the second varsity eight event and the third varsity eight event, as well as a first place finish in the novice four event.

The Saints varsity eight put up a tough fight against Ithaca, beating the Bombers off the start line.  Skidmore fell off the pace pretty steadily short after the first 30 strokes.  After moving away from the Thoroughbreds, the Saints were able to hang about six seats off of Ithaca.  However, around the 1,000 meter mark, the Bombers made a significant move, walking away from St. Lawrence. 

"We showed our race inexperience on the course," St. Lawrence University Head Coach Nick Hughes said.  "We didn't take advantage of being ahead at the start." 

The Saints struggled in the last 600 meters of the course, having difficulty sprinting with the unfavorable wind and water conditions.   Ithaca defeated St. Lawrence by a length of open water, finishing with a time of 7:47.1, while St. Lawrence took second with a time of 7:55.3.  Despite falling to Ithaca, St. Lawrence made a significant move away from Skidmore who finished third with a time of 8:13.0.  Senior Amelia Lalley stroked St. Lawrence's top eight, followed by first-year Jesse Burdett at seven seat, senior Amelia Bell at six seat, first-year Maggie Fellows at five seat, junior All-American Lizzy Stokes-Cawley at four seat, senior Eloise Lachance at three seat, sophomore Kathleen Slocum at two seat, and senior Jane Connolly at bow. The 1V was coxed by junior Lauren Reed.

St. Lawrence's second varsity also put up a fierce fight against Ithaca.  The Saints had a great start, rowing aggressively in the first 1,000 meters of the race.  They tackled the persistent head wind very well and rowed strong in lane three which was not favored with the conditions.  Again, Skidmore fell off the pace shortly after the opening 20 strokes.  With about 1,200 meters down, going into the first turn of the race, the Saints were about six seats up on the Bombers.  However, Ithaca capitalized on the turn, moving out by a boat length which proved to be decisive.  St. Lawrence was unable to respond.  Ithaca crossed the finish line with a time of 7:55.1, while the Saints followed in 8:07.8.  Skidmore rounded out the event with a time of 8:27.6.  Jackie Costas sat stroke seat, while senior Erin Hussey sat seven seat, sophomore Jeannine Condon sat six seat, senior Brianna Kehl sat five season, sophomore Brianna Tidd sat four seat, first-year Britton Webber sat three seat, first-year Kaitlyn Summers sat two seat, and senior Katie Roy sat bow. First-year Rachel Gartland coxed the 2V.

The Saints third varsity eight finished behind Ithaca with a time of 8:26.3, but significantly handled the Thoroughbreds.  The Bombers won the race in 8:16.8, while Skidmore finished third over a minute later with a time of 9:32.8.  First-year Madeline Fones stroked the boat, while senior Corrie Mersereau sat seven seat, sophomore Liz Weber sat six seat, first-year Sally Dankner sat five seat, first-year Molly Simpson sat four seat, junior Maggie Wiener sat three seat, junior Catie LePage sat two seat, and sophomore Amanda Brewer sat bow. Junior Alyssa Halton coxed the Saints 3V.

St. Lawrence's novice four had a particularly nice day, topping Ithaca by over 20 seconds to finish with a time of 9:25.8.  The Bombers took second, finishing in 9:46.7.  Alissa McCaffery stroked the boat, while Sally Dankner sat three seat, Maria Anselmi sat two seat, and Alicia Flint sat bow.  Rachel Gartland coxed the novice four.

"I'm pleased with beating an in-region league opponent who had a successful season last year," Head Coach Hughes said.  "However, at the same time we need to do some work to close the margin on a very good Ithaca crew.  We're going to work hard to make progress on our fitness and race execution in the upcoming weeks, but we're looking forward to seeing Hamilton and Union this weekend." 

St. Lawrence will be back in action next weekend when they host Hamilton, Saturday, April 17^th on the St. Lawrence River.  Races will begin at 10:30 am.