ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's rowing team began the season on Saturday at home in the Cayuga Duals regatta. The annual race hosted by Ithaca brought Williams College, Williams Smith College and Washington College to town.
Many rowers for the Bombers saw two racing opportunities throughout the day. Lane assignments and heats were mixed up the second time around to give different matchups.
In the first race, Ithaca's 1V bested William Smith by 22 seconds. The Bombers finished the race in 6:51.8 compared to Williams Smith's 7:13.2. The Bombers got off to an early lead in this race. According to Head Coach
Becky Robinson, "The crew rowed confidently and continued to increase the margin throughout the 2000-meter course". In the second race for the women's top boat, the race was tight for the first 1000 meters. Ithaca was up but ultimately lost the lead through the third 500m. The final times were Williams 6:48.8 and Ithaca 6:52.6.
The Ithaca 1V lineup to start the season features Carlie Wohlfarht,
Allison Arndt,
Lily Babcock,
Taylor Volmrich,
Maggie Farber,
Erin Trojan,
Karley Whalen,
Laura Trainor, and
Devi de Oliveira.
Next, the 2V won their matchup with William Smith. According to Robinson, "This was a close race for the first 1000 meters…Ithaca found their rhythm after the bridges and opened up the margin in the second half". Ithaca would end up winning by a margin of roughly 20 seconds.
In the 2V's second race, Williams led from start to finish, the Bombers rowed well, but could not keep pace. The final times for the race were Williams 7:04.5 and Ithaca 7:15.5.
The novice four saw their first collegiate spring racing action. Ithaca and William Smith matched up and William Smith took the race with a time of 8:03 compared to Ithaca's 8:18.0.
The 3V race was the closest race of the day. The race was decided by a margin of only .4 seconds. The final times were Ithaca, 7:21.2 and Williams, 7:20.8.
According to Robinson, "the drama occurred in the 4V race. There was 250 meters to go, the boats were even and both coxswains started to steer toward each other". After the slight clash, Williams crossed the line first almost 20 seconds ahead of Ithaca. Williams completed the course in 7:49.0 compared to Ithaca's 8:08.5.
All in all, it was a beautiful day on the inlet with great racing opportunities for the whole team. The team will practice this week and remain at home next weekend where they will face off against the Yellowjackets from the University of Rochester and the Tigers of RIT.
This will be the first Liberty League action for the Bombers so far this season. Races are scheduled to begin around 11 am, next Saturday.
