WORCESTER, Mass. – Backed by a winning performance from the Varsity Eight boat, No. 5 Wellesley College crew captured victory at the 2026 NEWMAC Championships at Lake Quinsigamond.
2026 is the second consecutive and 13th NEWMAC Championship win in program history and the 12th for Head Coach Tessa Spillane. Wellesley has now earned the NEWMAC's automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship, which will take place on May 29-30, 2026 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park at Gainesville, Ga.
Blue Crew junior Mia Saracino (West Kingston, R.I.) was named the NEWMAC Coxswain of the Year, becoming the fourth individual in program history to earn the honor. Saracino, along with seniors Bronnie Bailey (Portsmouth, R.I.), Hannah Bates (Fair Haven, N.J.) and Lucy Weil (Wilton, Conn.) all earned a place on the NEWMAC First Team All-Conference.
Wellesley narrowly defeated Smith in the NEWMAC Championship standings, which only takes the Varsity and Second Varsity boats into account, with its 43 points just one ahead of the Bears. Smith did win the Florence Jope Smith Cup, awarded annually to the school with the highest number of points from the overall results of every boat at the NEWMAC Championship. The Blue finished second in the Florence Jope Smith Cup standings.
The Varsity Eight boat was able to narrowly edge out Smith College. Wellesley hit the final buoys at 6:53.09, 2.2 seconds in front of the Bears and 16 seconds in front of third place Coast Guard.
Smith topped the Second Varsity Eight race with a winning time of 7:12.5. The Blue earned silver at 7:18.826, keeping over 11 seconds between itself and Coast Guard in third.
Smith and Wellesley were within two seconds of one another in the Third Varsity race, with the Bears narrowly snagging a 7:19.9 win. Blue Crew's 7:21.47 time far surpassed any other crew, with 25 seconds passing before Coast Guard took bronze.
The Fourth Varsity boat ended the day with a runner-up performance, trailing Smith with a time of 8:04.72.
Up next, Wellesley returns to Lake Quinsigamond for the New England Rowing Championships on Saturday, May 2.
NEWMAC Championship AQ Standings
1. Wellesley - 43
2. Smith - 42
3. Coast Guard - 35
4. WPI 30
5. Clark - 23
6. Mount Holyoke - 22
7. Simmons - 15
Florence Jope Smith Cup Standings
1. Smith - 38
2. Wellesley - 34
3. Coast Guard - 24
4. WPI - 18
5. Mount Holyoke - 10
6. Clark - 8
7. Simmons - 2
Wellesley lineups (4/25/26):
V8+ : C - Mia Saracino; 8 - Bronnie Bailey; 7 - Hannah Bates; 6 - Allegra Basanese; 5 - Mia Westmoreland; 4 - Sarah Fu; 3 - Marina West; 2 - Lucy Weil; 1 - Mia Kim
2V8+ : C - Sophia Lutch; 8 - Samantha Whitson; 7 - Caroline Hester; 6 - Rachel Hu; 5 - Isha Bajwa; 4 - Ellie Walsh; 3 - Bella Cooper; 2 - Jude Mohammad; 1 - Aliki Hollister
3V8+: C - Sophie Schell; 8 - Isabella Acosta; 7 - Mireilla Kamprath; 6 - Frances Dickinson; 5 - Mira Ivanis; 4 - Ramsey Tabor; 3 - Harper Mathews; 2 - Evyn Lally; 1 - Lilian Gregorich
V8+: C - Samantha Manoloff; 8 - Jillian Hack; 7 - Meg Behe; 6 - Ashley Chang; 5 - Alex Sonne; 4 - Hannah Hekhuis; 3 - Katy Guo; 2 - Claire Delaney; 1 - Crystal Zhang
