SHREWSBURY, Mass. - The Simmons College women's crew team competed at the Eastern College Athletic Conference National Invitational Rowing Championships today on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
The Sharks top Varsity Eight, along with the number two Varsity Eight and the number three Eight all competed today in the morning's preliminary heats.
Simmons' 1V8 placed sixth in the morning heat with a time of 7:44.130. Junior Chelsea Foster (Avon, Conn.) established the stroke pace for the Sharks, followed by first years Erin Lilienthal (East Lyme, Conn.), Ronnie Bennett (Pottstown, Pa.), junior Sophie Stone (Greenland, N.H.), first years Erica Bartle (Arlington, Mass.), Phoebe Knox (Scituate, Mass.), senior Nicole Poirier (Wayland, Mass.) and junior stroke Jill Bolduc (Methuen, Mass.). Sophomore coxswain Olivia Smiaroski (Northfield, Mass.) guided the crew in its morning race, before heading to the afternoon's finals. The oarswomen came back to compete in the third 1V final with senior Eva Weber (Guilford, Conn.) sliding into the bow seat. The shell finished with a mark of 8:06.050 to place fourth, ahead of Saint Lawrence University and Mount Holyoke College.
The 2V8 placed fifth in the morning heat for Simmons. Senior Laura Matt (Fairfax Station, Va.) took the stroke seat and Weber sat in the seventh seat, followed by junior Jess Randolph (Concord, N.C.), first years Eleanor Pullan (Northfield, Mass.), Michelle Crosier (Shrewsbury, Mass.), juniors Rachel Corning (Ipswich, Mass.), Abi Smith (Brookline, Mass.) and first year Karina Bercan (Derry, N.H.) in the bow seat. First year coxswain Clarice Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) relayed instruction for the Sharks. The shell turned in a time of 8:19.487.
The number three final for the 2V saw Bercan take over at the seventh seat and first year Kait Fierlit (Hamden, Conn.) take over at the bow as the crew placed second with a mark of 8:03.198.
The eight that comprised the Third Varsity heat in the morning was first year Elizabeth Rea-Wilson (Concord, Mass.) pulling Simmons in the stroke seat, followed by classmates Valarie Frost (Beaverton, Ore.), Alexa Frongillo (Franklin, Mass.), sophomore Mellyssa de Paiva (Várzea Grande, Brazil), first years Natalie Moore (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Sophie Ulyatt (Edgartown, Mass.), Wren Tenore (Rocky Hill, Conn.), and Fierlit sitting at the bow. First year coxswain Emily Alpert (Marlboro, Mass.) directed her squad to a sixth-place showing with a time of 9:04.257.
The shell did not compete in the finals, however.