WORCESTER, Mass. – A complete team effort helped Wellesley College crew to a second place finish in the overall points standings on Saturday at the 2019 New England Rowing Championships (NERC) on Lake Quinsigamond.

Bates (93.00 points) captured the Women's Points Trophy, with the Blue (80.25) in second, Williams (74.83) in third, and WPI in fourth (70.71). Wellesley advanced to the Grand Final in each event and has now finished in the top-five for 12 consecutive seasons at the NERC, including back-to-back years as the runner-up. 

The Blue started the day with the Varsity Four (V4+) participating in the Third Varsity Four (3V4+) race. In a preliminary time trial, the Blue V4+ earned the final spot in the Grand Final with a time of 6:39.400. The Blue took full advantage of the opportunity in the Grand, earning a bronze medal with a time of 8:14.378. 

The Third Varsity Eight (3V8+) followed with another bronze medal for the Blue. The Blue placed third, trailing only Williams and Bates, in a preliminary time trial to advance to the Grand Final. Wellesley (7:29.304) would hold on to the third place spot to claim bronze in a Grand Final where Bates (7:15.601) just edged Williams (7:15.996) for the top spot.

Wellesley's third event of the day was the Second Varsity Eight (2V8+) race. The Blue advanced to the Grand Final with a runner-up performance in an opening heat with Bates, Smith, Amherst, and Clark. However, a slow start in the Grand Final saw the Blue earn a sixth place (7:26.753) finish in the Grand Final after Wellesley entered the race with the sixth seed.

Wellesley captured gold in the final only Fourth Varsity Eight (4V8+) event with Williams, Tufts, WPI and Amherst, besting the second place Ephs (7:47.884) by over ten seconds with a time of 7:36.437. The Blue built an early lead and had a strong open water finish to earn gold and the John Quinn Trophy.

The Varsity Eight (V8+) closed out the racing with another bronze for the Blue. Wellesley (6:43.677) held off Wesleyan (6:50.402) in the team's opening heat to advance to the Grand Final. In the Grand, the Blue (6:57.248) finished just off the pace of second place WPI (6:54.918) in third place. Bates earned gold in 6:47.548.

Wellesley returns to Lake Quinsigamond next Sunday, May 12, for the National Invitational Rowing Championships.

Wellesley (5/4) NERC Lineups:

V8+: C - Sooji Kang, 8 - Frances Dingivan, 7 - Katie Livingston, 6- Rhiannon Mulligan, 5 - Casey Martin, 4 - Katie Ball, 3 - Anna Gaskill, 2 - Emilia Ball, 1 - Julianna Wright

2V8+: C - Vanessa Delarca, 8 - Mia Caglieris, 7 - Jocelyn Reahl, 6 - Maria Iannotti, 5 - Zoe Cheng, 4 - Pippa Cronin, 3 - Alanna Uthgennant, 2 - Faye Washburn, 1 - Alyssa Rivera

3V8+: C - Emily Arnold Mages, 8 - Alison Carey, 7 - Olivia Gorman, 6 – Anna Taylor, 5 - Emmet Odegaard, 4 - Beatrice Grauman-Boss, 3 - Meg Bolan, 2 - Kelsey Gosch, 1- Mar Barrera 

4V8+: C - Sasha Blachman, 8 - Eve Montie, 7 - Stephanie Fan, 6 - Julia Sokolowska, 5 - Anna Vold, 4 - Lexi Fitzgerald, 3 - Olivia Holbrook, 2 - Sarah Wells-Moran, 1 - Samantha Hintz

V4+: C - Chantal Valdivia, 4 - Tess Vetter, 3 - Gaya Krishna, 2 - Marinn Cedillo, 1 - Skylar Kolisko