WORCESTER, Mass. – It was a fine morning of racing for the Mount Holyoke College rowing team, which took to the waters of Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday morning. The Lyons squared off against some of the top teams in Division III, including #3 WPI, #12 Hamilton and #13 Washington College.

The Lyons varsity eight finished second overall in their opening heat, notching a time of 7:14.4, just behind Hamilton but ahead of Clark and Johnson & Wales. Moving into the Grand Final, the Lyons had another outstanding effort, earning third overall with a time of 7:23. Mount Holyoke finished ahead of nationally-ranked Washington College.

Sunday's varsity eight boat was comprised of coxswain Zoe Zelkowitz, rookie Simran Kaur, junior Hannah LeBlanc, rookie Jocelyn Greer, junior Elizabeth Hazen, senior Sharlow Hitchcock, rookie Xena Ault, junior Lainie LaRonde and first year Audrey Shannon.

In the second varsity eight opening heat, the Lyons powered their way to second overall with a time of 7:37.9. MHC's crew finished second only to Hamilton while outpacing Clark and Simmons. The 2V8 moved on to the Grand Final where they earned fourth overall, notching a time of 8:13

Comprising the 2V8 boat was coxswain Jaya Nagarajan-Swenson, first year Sarah Lancaster, sophomore Molly Aslin, junior Halee Mahoney, sophomores Gabrielle Spano and Casey Roepke, along with rookies Amy Wang, Katherine Dailey and Shoshi Daniels.

Mount Holyoke returns to the water next Sunday in race competition back on Lake Quinsigamond, hosted by Clark University.