SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Simmons College crew team finished third at the 30th Annual Seven Sisters Rowing Championship on Sunday morning on the Connecticut River in South Hadley, Mass. The races, featuring host Mount Holyoke, Wellesley College, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the Sharsk spanned a three mile stretch of the Connecticut River, finishing at the Mount Holyoke Boathouse.
Wellesley won the event with top times in all four races on the day and totaled 38 points.
Smith and Simmons both finished with 22 points, but the Pioneers were this year's runner-up, based on their second-place finish in the Varsity Eight race.
The second Novice Eight race was the opening event at this year's championship as Wellesley posted a time of 20:31.36 for the full seven points. The Sharks crossed the line in second place with a time of 21:09.06 for five points. First year Kelly Wen Chow (Quincy, Mass.) sat in the bow spot, followed by classmates Sara Amina Hassad (Winchester, Mass.), Kellie Cann (Needham, Mass.), Natalie Paicopolis (Beverly, Mass.), Siobhan Kenneally (Kennebunkport, Maine), Sammy Gilliam (Essex, Vt.), Nicole Lee (North Reading, Mass.) and Joanna O'Gorman (East Sandwich, Mass.) in the stroke seat ahead of first year coxswain Melissa Morton (Somers, Conn.).
The Novice Eights made their way on to the course second with Wellesley posting the top time of 18:12.57 for nine points. Simmons rowed to a mark of 20:06.43 to score three points on the oars of first year bow Christine Yu (Plainville, Mass.) followed by classmates Madison Summers (Hudson, N.H.), Jacquelyn Noyes (White River Junction, Vt.), Kneide Nascimento (Revere, Mass.), Niamh McIntosh-Yee (Excelsior, Minn.), Sarah Brouwer (Hebron, Maine), Eliana Ruben (Pittsfield, Vt.) and stroke Kit Birch (Mansfield, Mass.). First year Kait Fierlit (Hamden, Conn.) directed the crew from the coxswain seat.
In the Second Varsity Eight race saw the the Wellesley 'A' shell cruise to a time of 17:34.75 for 10 points, while Simmons was second with a time of 18:22.86 for eight points. Sophomore Elsbeth Colson (Everett, Mass.) rowed from the bow seat for Simmons, followed by first year Aimee Funk (Greenfield, Mass.), senior Abi Smith (Brookline, Mass.), sophomores Elizabeth Rea-Wilson (Concord, Mass.), Karina Bercan (Derry, N.H.) and Alexa Frongillo (Franklin, Mass.), first year Rachel Mazur (Princeton, Mass.) and senior Jess Randolph (Concord, N.C.) in the stroke seat. Sophomore Clarice Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) served as the coxswain.
Wellesley took home top honors in the Varsity Eight race, finishing in a time of 16:49.0 to earn the top total of 12 points. The Sharks' shell was fourth with a time of 17:38.32 to garner six points points. Sophomore bow Ronnie Bennett (Pottstown, Pa.) was followed by senior Jill Bolduc (Methuen, Mass.), sophomores Erin Lilienthal (East Lyme, Conn.) and Erica Bartle (Arlington, Mass.), seniors Sophie Stone (Greenland, N.H.) and Allie Belanger (Blackstone, Mass.), first year Sarah Bohan (Guilford, Conn.) and senior stroke Chelsea Foster (Avon, Conn.) with junior coxswain Olivia Smiaroski (Northfield, Mass.).
Simmons was led by their youth on the day with Lilienthal and Bohan both being named to the All-Regatta Team for the Varsity, while Funk was chosen for the squad from the Novices.
The Sharks are off until the Spring when they begin a full slate of competition.