Rowing team takes 11th and 22nd among 31 varsity eights at Head of the Riverfront

Emma Waldron (left) and Celeste Keep (right) helped Mount Holyoke's first varsity eight finish 11th out of 31 boats at the Head of the Riverfront regatta in Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 2, 2022. (RJB Sports file photo)

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Mount Holyoke College rowing team took 11th and 22nd places out of 31 boats in the Women's Open Eights section of the Head of the Riverfront regatta, held Sunday out of Riverfront Park on the Connecticut River.

Mount Holyoke's first varsity eight, coxed by first-year Tobin Mayo-Kiely (Anchorage, Alaska), placed 11th in a competitive field of 31 boats. On a course shortened from 4,100 meters to 3,200 under windy conditions, the 1V8 crossed the finish line in 13:53.54, trailing 10th-place Bowdoin by 4.0 seconds and overall winner Tufts by 38.5 seconds. The Lyons' top boat placed ahead of such Division III rivals as Smith and WPI.

The Lyon 2V8, coxed by sophomore Miranda Hull (Baltimore, Md.), took 22nd place in 14:49.92.

Directed by first-year Sarah Plotkin (Duxbury, Mass.), the Lyons' A novice boat took third place out of four boats, behind Bowdoin and Vassar, in the women's open novice eights race, with a time of 18:08.87. Mount Holyoke's B boat, coxed by first-year Laura Sacktor (Baltimore, Md.), took fourth place (22:32.80).

"We had some solid racing in tough conditions," said head coach Seth Hussey. "We're learning a lot about maintaining our poise under pressure. We're looking forward to continued progress as we set our sights on the final few weekends of the fall."

Mount Holyoke Boat Lineups:
1V - Bow: Meghan French; 2: Jill Slatch; 3: Lilla Carroll; 4: Celeste Keep; 5: Jocelyn Greer; 6: Bea Rodriguez 7: Indigo Kopp; Stern: Emma Waldron; Cox: Tobin Mayo-Kiely.
2V - Bow: Reeve Haefele; 2: Mack Windus; 3: Caroline Odlin-Brewer; 4: Piper LaPointe; 5: Clara Murphy; 6: Liv Romanowsky; 7: Ellie Mohn; Stroke: Eliza Weix; Cox: Miranda Hull.
Novice A: Bow: Zoe Wolfel; 2: Leyla Guven; 3: Holly Wrampelmeier; 4: Elsa Kulatunga; 5: Piper Davidson; 6: Avni Vallab; 7: Evelyn Griffin; Stroke: Annika Smart; Cox: Sarah Plotkin.
Novice B: Bow: Celie Lawing; 2: Kelly Zhang; 3: Victoria Faulkner; 4: Maire Kettner; 5: Katherine Zully; 6: Ava Rawlings; 7: Emmy McCormack; Stroke: Clay Halpern; Cox: Laura Sacktor.