#14 Rowing Solid in Action at New England Championships

Action photo of the Lyons rowing team on the water of the Connecticut River.

WORCESTER, Mass. - It was a solid day of competition for Mount Holyoke College rowing, which competed at the 2019 New England Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond. The Lyons, who are ranked 14th-nationally in Division III, saw its varsity eight advance to the Petite Finals.

The varsity eight opened the day in heat three of three for all 19 competing boats. The winner of the heat was 4th-ranked Wellesley with a time of 6:43.677, followed by 5th-ranked Wesleyan with a mark of 6:50.402. Colby, who is tied in the national rankings at 14 with MHC, was third with a mark of 6:53.457. The Lyons took fourth overall with a time of 6:56.457.

With its fourth-place finish, the Lyons advanced to the Petite Finals, which saw a number of national ranked boats. MHC finished sixth overall with a time of 7:23.967. Tufts, which is 12th-nationally, won with a time of 7:12.507, followed by Coast Guard with a time of 7:14.212. Colby was third (7:14.557), followed by Division I Vermont (7:19.367), Trinity (7:19.397) and the Lyons.

In the Lyons boat was In the varsity eight for the Lyons was senior coxswain Zoe Zelkowitz (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale), first year Simran Kaur (Hanover, N.H./Hanover), junior Hannah LeBlanc (Portland, Ore./Sunset), first year Jocelyn Greer (Glen Rock, N.J./Academy for Business & Finance), junior Elizabeth Hazen (Brookline, Mass./Brookline), sophomore Casey Roepke (Burlingame, Calif./Crystal Springs Uplands School), first year Xena Ault (Forest Park, Ill./Trinity), junior Lainie LaRonde (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and first year Audrey Shannon (Milton, Ga./Cambridge).

The Lyons second varsity eight boat opened action in the second heat of three, taking fifth overall with a time of 7:31.917. The group advanced to the Third Final as it battled against Clark, Johnson & Wales and Simmons University. MHC proved victorious in the final race, recording a time of 7:48.306 for the win. Clark had a time of 7:52.501, while Johnson & Wales had a mark of 8:07.396 and Simmons finished with an 8:11.086.

Mount Holyoke's second varsity eight boat featured first year coxswain Jaya Nagarajan-Swenson (Berkeley, Calif./Berkeley), junior Halee Mahoney (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), first year Shoshi Daniels (Rye, N.Y./Rye), senior Sharlow Hitchcock (Methuen, Mass./Methuen), first year Elle Bukosky (Trenton, N.J./Doane Academy), first year Katherine Dailey (Camden, Maine/Camden Hills Regional), first year Sarah Lancaster (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), first year Jillian Currier (Wakefield, N.H./Spaulding) and first year Amy Wang (Beijing, China/HS Affiliated to Remin Univ. of China RDFZ).

The Lyons return to action in their final race of the season next Sunday when they compete at the 2019 National Invitational Rowing Championships, hosted once again on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.