PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – The Wellesley College crew varsity eight (V8+) and second varsity eight (2V8+) each finished first in their qualifying heats on Friday morning to advance to the Grand Finals at the 2023 NCAA DIII National Championships on the Cooper River.

Blue Crew will now compete for the NCAA National Championship tomorrow morning, Saturday May 27, beginning with the 2V8+ Grand Final at 10:48 AM. The V8+ Grand Final will take place at 11:36 AM. Wellesley will be seeking to win the program's second consecutive and third overall NCAA National Championship on Saturday.

Blue Crew's 2V8+ won its opening heat with a time of 7:19.706 to advance to tomorrow's 2V8+ Grand Final. The Blue and Williams pulled away from the field through the first 500m. Wellesley made a late push in the final 500m to overtake the Ephs and win the heat.

Wellesley's top boat followed with a victory in its qualifying heat. The Blue Crew V8+ made a move to overtake Ithaca after the Bombers took an early lead through the first 500m of the race. The Blue cruised through the final 1500m of the race, looking strong as they won the heat with a time of 7:10.080 and advanced to Saturday's V8+ Grand Final.

For more information, visit NCAA.com.

Wellesley Lineups (5/26/23):

V8+: C - Isabella Santos; 8 - Anya Hanitchak; 7 - Anneka Hallstrom; 6 - Catie Moeser; 5 - Kaitlyn Severin; 4 - Sage Gilbert-Diamond; 3 - Hannah Bates; 2 - Emma Anghel; 1 - Kaylee Liu

2V8+: C - Colette Kennedy; 8 - Lucy Weil; 7 - Gaya Krishna; 6 - Eleanor Antezana; 5 - Cricket Liebermann; 4 - Gabby Zasada; 3 - Katherine Welsh; 2 - Amelia Lee; 1 - Cora Barrett