WORCESTER, Mass. - The Simmons College crew team's Second Varsity Eight turned in a spirited finish to place second in the Third Level Finals of the National Invitational Rowing Championships today on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The regatta was the final event of the season for the Sharks.
Simmons 2V8 held off Trinity College (Conn.) in the final 250 meters to edge the Bantams by less than a second with a mark of 7:22.516. The Sharks shell was paced by first year Hannah Dike (Leominster, Mass.) in the stroke seat, followed by sophomore Eleanor Pullan (Northampton, Mass.), junior Elizabeth Rea-Wilson (Concord, Mass.), first years Brianna Patterson (Pelham, N.H.), Rebecca Ramsey (Jefferson, Mass.), Emily Saunders (Hebron, Conn.), sophomore Captain Nicole Lee (North Reading, Mass.) and first year bow Kyetesie Heller (Sharon, Mass.) with first year coxswain Ally Fecteau (Burlington, Conn.) directing the action. The 2V8's time was nearly six seconds faster than its time in the morning heat that saw it place fifth after struggling in the first 500 meters of the race.
The First Varsity Eight turned in a time of 7:14.454 in the morning's heat that saw it finish sixth in the heat, but the shell struggled in the afternoon's Third Level Final with a time of 7:25.628, which produced a sixth-place finish, despite a late rush in the final 250 meters to catch Skidmore College. Simmons final race of the season featured junior Ronnie Bennett (Pottstown, Pa.) in the stroke seat, followed by classmate Elsbeth Colson (Everett, Mass.), first year Kate Krawczuk (Harrisburg, Pa.), sophomore Madison Summers (Hudson, N.H.), junior Alexa Frongillo (Franklin, Mass.), first years Sabrina Belozerova (Newton, Mass.), Olivia Hamilton (Sunapee, N.H.) and senior Karina Bercan (Derry, N.H.) in the bow seat. Junior Clarice Johnson (Norwell, Mass.) pushed the eight from the coxswain perch.