WORCESTER, Mass – The Ithaca College women's rowing team hit the road once again and traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts to compete in the National Invitational Rowing Championships (NIRC). The race featured roughly 27 clubs with just over 115 total race entries.
 
The NIRC mostly showcases teams from across the tri-state area and Massachusetts. With that being said, the Bombers were able to take on some new teams and match-up against different lineups. Friday's racing was shifted to be slightly earlier in the day due to anticipated weather in the area.
 
Each IC crew, with the exception of the novice eight, raced twice. Due to the amount of entries, there were three separate heats for each category, with preliminary heats in the morning, and finals in the late afternoon.
 
The first race of the day for Ithaca was the women's varsity eight. In the Bombers initial heat, they were matched-up with WPI, Hamilton, Trinity, Mount Holyoke, and Colby.
 
The Bomber's 1V consisted of Carlie Wohlfahrt, Allison Arndt, Laura Trainor, Taylor Volmrich. Lily Babcock, Erin Trojan, Maggie Farber, Karley Whalen, and Devi de Oliveira.
 
In their heat, the top boat finished third with a final time of 7:17.56 placing them in the petite final.
 
Later on, in the 1V petite final, the Bombers would finish first with a race time of 6:46.29 edging out Wesleyan who went 6:47.40.
 
Next up for IC would be the women's 2V eight. The Bombers faced off against Bates, Hamilton, Colby, and Skidmore.
 
The second varsity eight for the Bombers featured Caroline Hoskins, Emma Anderson, Katrina Pohlman, Emma Hammel, Brenna Hanratty, Ashley Bailey, Samantha Gallagher, Erika Elcsisin, and Melanie Belmont.
 
In their heat, the 2V finished third with a time of 7:32.35. This performance landed the crew in the petite final.
 
Later in the day, in the petite finals, the 2V took fifth place with a final time of 7:00.79. The Bombers fell just behind Smith who went 7:00.78.
 
The next boat to race for Ithaca would be the women's third varsity eight. With only two initial heats for the category, the Bombers went up against Tufts, Wellesley, Williams, and WPI, initially. 
 
The 3V this week consisted of Zoe Kwasnicki, Chloe Croft, Nicole De La Mota, Zoe Paradis Stern, Kai Linke, Lauren Hitesman, Anna Capodilupo, Skylar Moresi, and Avery LaVergne.
 
The 3V was able to place fourth in their heat. The Bombers finished the heat with a final time of 7:44.90.
 
In the petite finals, the 3V placed second with a final time of 7:12.67. The Bombers edged out Trinity who claimed third and went 7:17.19.
 
The novice eight would race next. As mentioned, due to the number of entries, the novice eight only race once in the finals. The Ithaca crew faced off against the University of Rochester and UNH.
 
The novice eight for IC featured Emma Kelley, Melanie Heim, Emma Thorne, Hope Oliveira, Lucy Hogan, Ariana Wunderle, Emmeline Robinson, Zohara Silver, and Lucca Bane.
 
The Bombers placed third in the N8 with a final race time of 7:44.41.
 
All in all, the Bombers had another strong day of racing. As a result of winning the Liberty League Championship, the women's first and second varsity boats will face off at the NCAA DIII Rowing Championship which is scheduled to begin on May 25. The team will train over the next couple of weeks before hitting the road for the championships which will take place in Camden, New Jersey.