Saints Sweep Eights Races Against Hamilton
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Tara FreemanThe Saints top varsity eight defeated Hamilton by nine seconds Saturday.
April 17: The nationally-ranked St. Lawrence University women's crew team swept all three eights races Saturday, against in-region opponent Hamilton College on the St. Lawrence River in Waddington, NY.
"We've always had a friendly rivalry with Hamilton," St. Lawrence University Head Coach Nick Hughes said. "They had a good showing last week against nationally-ranked teams, so I'm pleased with our results today against a good in-region squad."
After struggling off the line, the Saints top varsity eight defeated Hamilton's crew by over a boat length of open water. St. Lawrence was down by roughly three seats after the first 15 strokes of the race, but started to gain momentum when they followed with a third hard ten. This extra power sparked a nice move by the Scarlet and Brown, pushing them half a boat length ahead of the Continentals. The Saints resilience proved to be the race determiner, as they held strong in the last 1000 meters of the race. With 500 meters left to go, St. Lawrence opened up the margin and Hamilton was unable to retaliate. The Saints finished with a time of 6:20.1, while the Continentals crossed the line in 6:29.1. Senior Jackie Costas stroked the top eight, while senior Eloise Lachance rowed seven seat, senior Amelia Bell rowed six seat, first-year Maggie Fellows rowed five seat, junior Lizzy Stokes-Cawley rowed four seat, first-year Jessica Burdett rowed three seat, sophomore Kathleen Slocum rowed two seat, and senior Jane Connolly rowed bow. The Saints 1V was coxed by junior Lauren Reed.
"We knew we were two seats back after the start," Costas said. "But, we stayed calm and were able to make a nice move when we settled into our race pace. We knew Hamilton was going to be a tough opponent, so we really tried to lay it all on the line right away."
St. Lawrence's second varsity eight also had an impressive race, handily defeating Hamilton by over ten seconds. The Saints 2V looked very strong off the start, making a nice move away from the Continentals in the first 30 strokes of the race. With 500 meters down, St. Lawrence had opened up and looked solid as they settled into their race pace. Although Hamilton was able to crawl back a bit in the middle of the piece, the Saints power 20 at the 1000 meter mark sustained their lead. St. Lawrence crossed the line with a time of 6:31.7, while the Continentals finished in 6:42.9. Senior Amelia Lalley stroked the 2V, while senior Erin Hussey sat seven seat, sophomore Liz Weber 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 had a particularly solid race, dropping Hamilton by over 20 seconds. The race was markedly decided in the opening 500 meters when St. Lawrence made a big move early, walking away from the Continentals. The Saints continued to open up the margin in the body of the race. The Scarlet and Brown finished with a time of 6:41.5, while Hamilton crossed the line in 7:02.1. Senior Corrie Mersereau stroked the 3V, while sophomore Amanda Brewer sat seven seat, junior Catie LePage sat six seat, first-year Sally Dankner sat five seat, first-year Maddy Fones sat four seat, junior Maggie Wiener sat three seat, first-year Molly Simpson sat two seat, and first-year Alissa McCaffery sat bow. First-year Kelly Greenwood coxed the Saints 3V.
Despite a tough effort by the Saints novice four, the Continentals were able to earn their only win of the day, crossing the line three seconds in front of St. Lawrence. Both crews looked relatively even throughout the majority of the race, but Hamilton was able to make a move in the final 500 meters to earn them the win. The Continentals finished with a time of 7:07.6, while the Saints earned a time of 7:10.5. Fones stroked the boat, while McCaffery sat three seat, Maria Anselmi sat two seat, and Alicia Flint sat bow. Greenwood coxed the novice four.
The Saints will be back in action next weekend when they head on the road to compete in the Liberty League Championships, April 24th in Saratoga Springs, NY. St. Lawrence is looking to win their third straight conference championship title.