BOSTON, Mass. – The No. 13 Simmons College women's crew team's One Varsity Eight shell was named the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Rowing Boat of the Week for the week of April 4-10, it was announced today by the league. The award marks the third straight week that the Sharks have earned the honor.
Simmons was busy over the weekend, competing at the Donahue Cup and the Clark Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Both races were held on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The Sharks finished first with a time of 7:06.8 to finish just under 1.5 seconds ahead of University of Vermont's 7:08.27 effort to capture the Clark Invitational's 1V8 crown. Senior Chelsea Foster (Avon, Conn.) set the pace from the stroke seat. Sophomores Phoebe Knox (Scituate, Mass.), Ronnie Bennett (Pottstown, Pa.), Erin Lilienthal (Niantic, Conn.) and Erica Bartle (Arlington, Mass.) followed to help power the Simmons shell. Senior Sophie Stone (Greenland, N.H.) made the move to the 1V8 boat, sitting in the second seat ahead of classmate Jess Randolph (Concord, N.C) and senior bow Jill Bolduc (Methuen, Mass.). Sophomore Katie Fierlit (Hamden, Conn.) took over the coxswain duties for the race.
Virtually the same lineup took up oars for Simmons in the Donahue Cup, the day before. The crew placed third in the One Varsity race, clocking in at 7:13.61 behind No. 2 Williams College, which turned in a mark of 7:01.00 and Worcester Polytechnic Institute's effort of 7:08.96. The Sharks finished over 11 seconds ahead of University of Rochester. Foster led the way again as the stroke, seated before Knox, Bennett, Lilienthal and Bartle. First year Niamh McIntosh-Yee (Excelsior, Minn.) took up residence the third seat ahead of Randolph and Bolduc. Junior coxswain Olivia Smiaroski (Northfield, Mass.) pushed the crew through the morning race as she has for most of the season.
Simmons, which is nationally-ranked in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division III Collegiate Rowing Poll presented by Pocock Racing Shells, will be off until April 23 when it competes in the NEWMAC Women's Rowing Championship on Lake Quinsigamond.