No. 2 women’s crew traveled to Worcester, Mass., on Sunday to compete in the combined NESCAC and National Invitational Rowing Championships (NIRCs). The Ephs finished third in NIRCs, behind the runner-up, No. 1 Bates Bobcats, and the first-place, No. 3 Tufts Jumbos. In the 1v and 3v races, the Ephs finished in second place, while the team’s 2v finished its grand final in fifth.
The boats put in a dominant performance early in the day, with each claiming first in their respective qualifying heats. In the first heat of the Championships, the novice four finished 18 seconds ahead of its closest competitor, the Wesleyan Cardinals, crossing in 8:51.124. Carrying that momentum into the grand finals that afternoon, the Ephs claimed first in 9:15.891, with the second-place Trinity Bantams trailing by 14 seconds.
Each boat competing in the women’s fours race posted slower times in the grand final than in its qualifying heat. The same was true for the Ephs competing in the 2v and 3v. According to Carolyn Fortin ’26, co-captain and seven-seat in the 1v, shifting weather conditions contributed to this difference. “The headwind picked up in the afternoon, and that usually has a substantial effect on times,” she wrote to the Record.
The first-place result marked not only the novice four’s first major victory of the season, but also the third time the rowers ever competed together. The boat finished in fourth at NERCs the prior weekend.
Beyond marking the boat’s first win against multiple opponents, novice four coxswain Qi Wang ’26 said the result carried added significance. “It was also a very special day for all of us,” she wrote to the Record. “It was Mother’s Day, a big win for our mamas. It was also [Amelie Etter’s ’29] birthday, so a big win for our birthday girl… The race was the last race of my college career as a senior coxswain and the last race of the school year for our rowers who all walked onto the team this year.”
In the second grand final of the afternoon, the 3v went neck and neck against the Jumbos, with the Jumbos racing to an early advantage. After the 500-meter mark, the two boats traded positions several times before the Jumbos solidified their lead approaching the 1000-meter mark. The Ephs finished in second with a time of 7:55.325, five seconds behind the Jumbos.
According to Jordan Bose ’29, stroke-seat in the 3v, strong winds made it difficult for the Ephs to close the gap in the second half. “We were really focused on taking an early [lead] and making some strong moves in the first thousand meters, which were super effective,” she wrote to the Record. “However, in the second half, the wind got really strong and we lost a step to Tufts. We were very committed though and managed to make up a few seats in the final 500 meters but unfortunately we just ran out of water.”
The Ephs struggled at the start of the 2v grand final, falling behind the Jumbos, Bantams, Cardinals, and Bobcats. They held off the William Smith Herons and continued to pressure the Bobcats, trading positions several times through the finish. Despite these efforts, the Ephs finished less than one second behind the Bobcats, placing fifth in 7:36.411.
The 1v race, the Ephs’ last grand final of the day, remained tightly contested throughout, with the top four boats repeatedly trading positions. Though the Bantams and Jumbos pulled ahead early, as the crews entered the third 500, the Ephs and the Bobcats had pulled ahead.
The 1v remained focused on its own rhythm despite the shifting race order, Fortin told the Record. “We try to stay pretty internal during races, especially when we know they are going to be tight, because we can’t control what’s happening in other boats, only how we execute our own race,” she wrote.
According to co-captain and bow seat in the 1v Audrey Riddle ’26, maintaining composure under pressure is one of the boat’s defining strengths. “In the heat of the moment when boats are giving everything they can to overtake you, our boat does an excellent job of staying calm while giving our absolute all — and that’s hard to do,” she wrote in an email to the Record.
While the Ephs briefly moved into the lead, the Bobcats overtook them in the final 500 and held on until the finish. The Bobcats finished two seconds ahead of the Ephs, who earned a second-place finish with a time of 7:08.518.
This race was the first time the Ephs’ 1v did not finish in first place among Div. III teams in a regatta during the spring season, which provided the boat with a valuable lesson, according to 1v six-seat Vivian Johnson ’27. “Not winning this weekend is going to make us sharper,” Johnson said. “It’ll make us remember that we can’t take winning for granted.”
The Ephs now head to the Div. III NCAA Championship in Gainesville, Ga., starting on May 29. “Our goal is to be the fastest [Div. III] team in the country, and we are really excited to have fun in the process and continue finding more speed over the next few weeks,” Fortin wrote.
Editor’s Note: Ellie Davis, member of the crew team and editor-in-chief of the Record, was not involved in the writing or editing of the story.
