WORCESTER, Mass. - The Simmons College top Varsity Eight finished second in the number three finals of the 2015 New England Rowing Championships today on a sun-drenched Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
The Sharks number one Varsity Eight shell rebounded from a fifth-place finish in the morning's heat on a time of 7:28.652, powered by a 38-stroke rate for most of the race. Trinity College won the heat with a mark of 6:52.365 and went on to place fourth in the grand final with a time of 7:04.439, while Bates College claimed the grand final with a time of 6:57.656.
The Simmons shell of junior stroke seat Chelsea Foster (Avon, Conn.), first years Erin Lilienthal (East Lyme, Conn.), Ronnie Bennett (Pottstown, Pa.), junior Sophie Stone (Greenland, N.H.), seniors Nicole Poirier (Wayland, Mass.), Eva Weber (Guilford, Conn.), Laura Matt (Fairfax Station, Va.) and junior bow Jill Bolduc (Methuen, Mass.) and sophomore coxswain Olivia Smiaroski (Northfield, Mass.) came back for number three finals in the evening and finished second, clocking in at 7:30.908, just over eight seconds behind Smith College's time of 7:22.761. The Sharks outdistanced University of Vermont (7:36.465), Mount Holyoke College (7:39.577) and Clark University (7:51.410).
The 2V8 for Simmons turned in a sixth-place finish in the morning heat following a mark of 7:46.969, while Trinity's second V8 finished with the top time of 7:13.128. The Sharks' seated first year Erica Bartle (Arlington, Mass.) in the stroke seat, followed by classmate Karina Bercan (Derry, N.H.), junior Jess Randolph (Concord, N.C.), first years Eleanor Pullan (Northampton, Mass.), Michelle Crosier (Shrewsbury, Mass.), juniors Rachel Corning (Ipswich, Mass.), Abi Smith (Brookline, Mass.) and first year bow Kait Fierlit (Hamden, Conn.) under the direction of first year coxswain Clarice Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) registered a time of 7:57.125 to place seventh in the Petite Final later in the day. Smith took the top spot of the race with a time of 7:27.677.
The Sharks' 3V8 finished fifth in their morning heat on a time of 8:33.429 with Bates College winning the heat following a time of 7:26.715. The Simmons 3V8 was comprised of first year stroke Elizabeth Rea-Wilson (Concord, Mass.), first years Valarie Frost (Beaverton, Ore.), Alexa Frongillo (Franklin, Mass.), Mellyssa de Paiva (Várzea Grande, Brazil), Natalie Moore (Colorado Springs, Colo.), junior Fernanda Tapia (Edinburg, Texas), first year Wren Tenore (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and first year bow Sophie Ulyatt (Edgartown, Mass.) was led by first year coxswain Emily Alpert (Marlboro, Mass.) to post a time of 8:37.728 for a third-place finish in the fourth final of the 3V8. Worcester Polytechnic Institute placed first in the race with a mark of 7:51.917.
Simmons will return to Lake Quinsigamond next weekend when its crews compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships on Sunday, May 10.