GOLD RIVER, Calif. — Wellesley College crew raced to victory in their Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight heats to advance to the Grand Final in both events on Friday morning at the 2016 NCAA Division III Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
Blue Crew opened the day with an open water victory in heat one of the Second Varsity Eight event, besting runner-up Pacific Lutheran and third place Washington College with a time of 6:54.236 to advance to the Second Varsity Eight Grand Final on Saturday. Pacific Lutheran finished with a time of 7:13.839, while Washington College clocked in at 7:36.636. The Blue led throughout the race, opening up a sizable lead by the 1000m mark to cruise to the open water victory.
In heat two of the Second Varsity Eight, defending national champion Bates took the victory in 6:46.991, ahead of second-place Williams (6:54.749) and third place William Smith (7:37.426).
Wellesley continued to roll in the Varsity Eight heats, earning an automatic spot in the Varsity Eight Grand Final with a victory in the second heat. The Blue recorded a time of 6:42.998, finishing ahead of Bates (6:46.549), Pacific Lutheran (6:51.218) and Washington College (7:08.081). Pacific Lutheran started strong, leading the race through the 500m mark before Wellesley and Bates pushed ahead at 1000m. The Blue and Bobcats continued to dual to the 1500m mark before Wellesley was able to gain separation late to finish ahead of Bates and advance to Saturday's Grand Final.
In heat one of the Varsity Eight, Williams raced to victory in 6:41.729, while Wesleyan (Conn.) took second (6:46.552), Ithaca followed in third (6:56.48) and Williams Smith was fourth (7:11.990).
Saturday's Grand Finals begin with the Second Varsity Eight at 2:12 PM Eastern, followed by the Varsity Eight at 2:36 PM Eastern. Live Video is available online at ncaa.com. Fans can also follow the race results live at regattatiming.com.
Wellesley Lineups - 2016 NCAA Rowing Championships
Varsity Eight: C- Alessandra Zaldivar-Giuffredi (Coral Gables, Fla.), 8- Emilia Ball (Albany, N.Y.), 7- Kathryn Barth (Bellevue, Wash.) 6- Sydney Dollmeyer (Warren, Vt.), 5- Loren Lock (Fond du Lac, Wis.), 4- Molly Hoyer (Newton, N.J.), 3- Olivia Duggan (West Newbury, Mass.), 2- Lauren Bazley (Issaquah, Wash.), 1- Katie Livingston (Wellesley, Mass.)
Second Varsity Eight: C- Sydney Stento (Boise, Idaho), 8- Anna Hakes (Willow Grove, Pa.), 7- Sahar Ibrahim (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 6- Olivia Thayer (Springfield, Vt.), 5- Grace Howland (Millbrook, N.Y.), 4- Kelsey Campbell (Broomfield, Colo.), 3- Audrey Ellis (Lincolnshire, Ill.), 2- Meg Roberts (Kenilworth, Ill.), 1- Margaret Babikian (Belmont, Mass.)
