LOWELL, Mass. -- Junior Samantha Kelsey (Salt Lake City, Utah) and sophomore Emily Niemi (Santa Clarita, Calif.) won the women's open double race to lead the Simmons University crew team today at the Textile River Regatta on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Mass. 

Kelsey and Niemi turned in a time of 19:51.148 to cross the finish line by 74 seconds over the next closest finisher.

Kelsey also raced later in the day, competing in the stroke seat with the first varsity eight, which placed third in the women's club eight race. Senior Hannah Dike (Leominster, Mass.) pulled from the seven seat, followed by junior Steffi Gaehde (Brookline, Mass.), sophomore Maude Elovitz (Lake Oswego, Ore.), first year Kellie Cann (Brookline, Mass.), senior Lily Pennington (Watertown, Mass.), sophomore Anna Boyles (Ridgeland, Miss.) and sophomore Chloe Janes (Brookline, Mass.) in the bow seat. Senior Ally Fecteau (Burlington, Conn.) directed the eight to a time of 18:10.334 from the coxswain seat. Community Rowing Incorporated's entry won the race with a mark of 17:27.359. The Sharks also had entries place fifth and sixth in the women's club eight. Sophomore Michaela Hayes (Concord, N.H.) led the first novice eight from the coxswain perch ahead of first year stroke Maggie Thibault (Hadley, Mass.), first years Claudia S. Spedding (Old Saybrook, Conn.), Libby Taylor (Malden, Mass.), Madi Hedrick (Fishers, Ind.), Samantha Merrow (Gilbert, Ariz.), Paige Loskill (Commerce, Mich.), Lucia Escobar and Grace Mancuso (Boston, Mass.) to a fifth-place showing on a time of 19:39.335. Simmons' sixth-place boat featured sophomore coxswain Mackenzie Gondek (Waban, Mass.), first years Natalie Schweikhart (Summerville, N.C.), Jordan Kim (Madison, Conn.), Eliza Fahey (West Newbury, Mass.), Liz Girard, Paige D'Amico (South Grafton, Mass.), sophomore Rachel Matz (Washington, D.C.), Serena Tapia and Josie Farnese (Exeter, N.H.).

Senior Sabrina Belozerova (Newton, Mass.) closed out the day for the Sharks by finishing fifth in the women's club single with a time of 23:01.573, finishing behind the top individual rower, Elizabeth Christmas, who was an unaffiliated competitor with a time of 20:26.422.

Simmons returns to the water on Saturday, October 12 when it competes in the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.