Herons Defeat Nationally Ranked Crews

2 April 2012 Herons Defeat Nationally Ranked Crews

The William Smith rowing team aced its first big test of the spring semester, posting open-water victories over a pair of nationally ranked opponents. The Herons, ranked third in the latest CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, won the varsity eight race in impressive fashion over No. 6 Ithaca and No. 9 Marietta.

The Herons top boat of Kim Goral, Liz Hafer, Sinead Reilly, Lauren Blake-Whitney, Sarah Gordon, Katie Paige, Tess Wiggins, Alyssa Trebilcock and Jess Steketee flew down the 2,000-meter course in 6:52.58, topping the second place Pioneers by more than 12 seconds and enjoying a nearly 31-second margin over the Bombers.

This was a tremendous accomplishment for the boat today, William Smith Head CoachSandra Chu said. Working off of a few mistakes we made on Wednesday, I was incredibly proud of how they simply never settled for their margin. All the way down the race course they pushed their limits. Whats really exciting about this boat is that this isnt their top-end speed: theyve got more to give.

The Heron novice eight-Melanie Baltzer, Emma Tiedemann, Emma Dow, Emily Andersen, Amanda Reusch, Carissa Boire, Alanna Dugan, Anola Stage, and Morgan Burgess-also bested the field in 7:33.61, beating Ithacas novice eight (7:39.63) and third varsity eight (7:55.70).

This group of first-years is on its way to showing how boundless they arethey are setting the bar high for themselves and meeting that each race. They were supremely composed out there and exhibited some very advanced racing maturity.

William Smiths second varsity eight sustained an injury during the start when the Herons clashed oars with Marietta. The Pioneers recovered to win the race in 7:21.4 while the Herons maintained their poise and took second in 7:29.5, four seconds ahead of Ithaca.

The William Smith varsity four finished second to the Bombers in a head-to-head race (8:37.91-8:50.65).

The Herons will be back on the water on Sunday, April 1, when they host Marietta and RIT beginning at 9 a.m.