The nationally ranked No. 5 Hamilton College Continentals finished first in the varsity eight race in the NESCAC West Division event held on Onota Lake in Pittsfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon.

Hamilton needed to be one of the top two boats in the varsity eight to qualify for the 2021 NESCAC Women's Rowing Championship, which will be held on the Malden River in Medford, Mass., on Saturday, May 8. The Continentals will be joined by Williams College, Bates College and Colby College.

Hamilton's time of 7:09.39 on the 2,000-meter course was just six-tenths of a second ahead of No. 10 Williams on its home course. No. 2 Wesleyan University finished exactly one second behind the Continentals and No. 10 Trinity College was a distant fourth in 7:28.19.

"In the 1V, Wesleyan took the lead from the start line and stayed slightly out in front of the field," Head Coach James Lister said. "At the halfway mark, the Hamilton varsity 8+ started to cut into that lead and moved out two seats in front of Wesleyan. Williams started to come up in the last 500 meters and it became a three-boat race to the finish line. It's the races you want to be in to find your maximum effort and boat speed with a field so close together at the finish line. We have four days to practice and find more speed. Looking forward to racing again next week with Williams, Colby and Bates."

Hamilton was runner-up in the second varsity eight race with a time of 7:15.59. Wesleyan was the race winner in 7:12.16, Williams ended up third in 7:21.49 and Trinity came in fourth again in 8:15.85.

"The women's races had a lot of unknowns not having raced Trinity or Wesleyan and racing at Onota Lake for the first time," Lister said. "We anticipated both races to be competitive all the way to the finish line. The 2V8+ rowed a very good race to stay in contact with a fast Wesleyan boat all the way down the course. They kept mounting challenges to try and work their way up to Wesleyan, but Wesleyan was able to respond and finish 3.4 seconds ahead. The boat is young and has a high ceiling. Looking forward to having another week to build the speed for the NESCAC Championships."

Race conditions included a steady rain with a sustained crosswind of 9 to 11 miles per hour pushing all lanes to starboard. There was an increasing chop in the second 1,000 meters with variable 15 to 20 mph gusts from the west.

"Racing four boats across with Wesleyan, Trinity and Williams was one of the most exciting race experiences for our athletes," Lister said. "The weather proved to be a challenge with wind for the men's races in the morning and a cold rain for the women's race in the afternoon. Yet, in spite of the conditions, it's another obstacle for the athletes to learn how to overcome and stay focused on the boat performance."

LINEUPS

Varsity 8+
Carson Goos '21 (cox)
Emily Norum '22
Pauline Santry '21
Perrin Salewood '21
Kara Mathes '22
Elizabeth Kantrowitz '23
Sarah Sandison '23
Celine Yam '21
Katherine Buckley '21
 
2nd Varsity 8+
Michaela Murdock '22 (cox)
Ali Joseph '24
Aisling Mockler '24
Sarah Scheuritzel '22
Jane Fanning '22
Rylie Mutton '23
Maggie Looney '23
Brynn O'Connor '23
Katy Shepard '22