WORCESTER, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College rowing team took to the water on Sunday, facing off against Clark, Vermont, Bryant, Simmons and Endicott, on the waters of Lake Quinsigamond. MHC saw its boats race to strong finishes, including third overall by the varsity eight.
In the opening race of the day – the varsity eight – the Lyons powered their way to third overall in the six-team race. The crew posted a time of 7:16.42, besting the host Cougars (7:30.27), Bryant (8:07.14) and Endicott (8:53.21). MHC fell just short against race winner, Simmons (7:06.8) and runner-up, Vermont (7:08.27).
The varsity eight boat was guided by junior Leela Woody (C), junior Molly Lapointe (S), first year Eleanor Stewart (7), senior Rosalind Waltz-Peters (6), sophomore Ariya Lawson (5), junior Azulina Green (4), sophomore Elisabeth Scheemaker (3), first year Monika Sharma (2) and junior Meghan Ryan (B).
In the second varsity eight race, the Lyons finished first in a tough battle against Simmons and Vermont. MHC crossed the line in a time of 7:51.4, coming up just behind the winning Sharks (7:39.5) and runner-up Catamounts (7:40.14).
Leading the 2V8 charge was sophomore Kimberly Ho (C), sophomore Nicole Villacres (S), sophomore Kelly Chambers (7), first year Violet Gehr (6), junior Zandra Davis (5), first year Sharlow Hitchcock (4), senior Claire Fahrner (3), junior Mira Kelly-Fair (2) and sophomore Rumi Handen (B).
Mount Holyoke is back in the water next weekend when it travels to New London, Conn., on Saturday. The Lyons will square off against Coast Guard and Johnson & Wales on the Thames River.
