CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Simmons College crew team placed third in both the First and Second Varsity Eights to host Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lightweight and Bates College this morning on the Charles River in Cambridge/Boston, Mass. 

The 2,000 kilometer race was the first of the spring season for the Sharks.

MIT won the the 1V race with a time of 7:35.4 with Bates right behind on a time of 7:38.7. Simmons eight clocked in at 8:15.9. Sophomore Ally Fecteau (Burlington, Conn.) directed the Sharks' shell from the coxswain seat ahead of first year stroke Caroline Granitur (Vero Beach, Fla.). Sophomore Sabrina Belozerova (Newton, Mass.) was in the number seven seat followed by first year Samantha Kelsey (Salt Lake City, Utah), junior Madison Summers (Hudson, N.H.), senior Ronnie Bennett (Pottstown, Pa.), sophomore Peizhu Pam Qian (Beijing, China), first year Steffi Gaehde (Brookline, Mass.) and sophomore bow Hannah Dike (Leominster, Mass.).

Simmons second varsity eight finished behind Bates and MIT in their race after turning in a time of 8:01.2 in a gusting cross headwind. Bates won the race with a time of 7:23.0 to finish ahead of MIT's mark of 7:39.9. The Sharks eight comprised of junior Nicole Lee (North Reading, Mass.) on the bow, followed by sophomore Chloe Feuerstein (Winchester, Mass.), senior Elsbeth Colson (Everett, Mass.), junior Christine Yu (Plainville, Mass.), first year Elaine Nolan (West Bridgewater, Mass.) in the fifth seat, before sophomores Rebecca Ramsey (Jefferson, Mass.) and Emily Saunders (Hebron, Conn.) and first year stroke Eleanor Thidemann (Belmont, Mass.) in addition to junior coxswain Melissa Morton (Somers, Conn.).

The Sharks will compete again on Sunday, April 8 on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester against host Worcester Polytechnic Institute with Clark University, Hamilton College, Pacific Lutheran University, Mount Holyoke College & Bates.