ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's rowing program hosted Liberty League rivals RIT & Rochester for Senior Day racing this Saturday on the Cayuga Inlet. With the day run as a series of duals, the upper crews had the opportunity to tackle the course twice - once against RIT and once against Rochester, with William Smith returning from last weekend to fill out the duals. Strong tailwind helped crews post encouraging times throughout the afternoon.
 
The men's squad also raced throughout the morning, inviting Williams and Marietta to add more competitive depth to the day. Please head here to read about the men's events. 
 
The Varsity 8+ set the tone of the day with a decisive victory against RIT. Caroline Hoskins drove her crew of Lily Babcock, Emma Hammel, Maggie Farber, Zoe Paradis Stern, Kai Lincke, Ashley Bailey, Samantha Gallagher and Beth Roberts to a 27 second victory over the Tigers in 6:51.9.  In the second round of racing against the YellowJackets, the goal was to improve aggression over the first half of the course. The Bombers executed their plan and finished with a 6:54.4 to top Rochester's 7:28.4. 
 
In the first round of 2V racing, the Bombers were on the way to a similar open-water gap over RIT when nature intervened. The shell passed over an unseen piece of debris at the 1k mark that broke the skeg away from the hull. With breakage rules only applying over the beginning 500m of the course, coxswain Kaelyn Morandi was forced to continue racing using only her arms as a steering mechanism.  Unfortunately, the stoppage and rough steering required to keep the crew on course allowed RIT the opportunity to slip by with a 10 second win in 7:39.6. After a quick repair, the Bombers returned for the second round of racing determined to post a more competitive time. They executed a sharp, aggressive run to finish in 7:25.2 over Rochester's 8:11.7.  
 
Neither Rochester nor RIT could field a healthy 3v for the event, so the Bomber 3V lined up with William Smith for a repeat of last weekend. The Herons took the race in 7:46.8 over IC's 8:00.5, but with a lot of youth and some inconsistency in IC's practice lineups this week, the Bombers remain hopeful that they can narrow the gap before the Liberty League Championship. The lineup, coxed by first year Smeena Gill, was Payton Fisch, Kathe Ebert, Emily Murphy, Melanie Heim, Ava Connor, Maisie Sagaas, Sarah Chraibi and Brandi Landis.
 
The final event for the Ithaca women was a Novice 4+ against RIT, an event where all competitors are within their first year of learning the sport. Coxswain Cameron Silberman drove her crew of Bryanna Mendoza-Arias, Ava Connor, Masie Sagaas and Marie Nemeth to victory in 8:40.9 over RIT's 8:54.7.  
 
Ithaca's Senior Day is the final race that the men & women enjoy together on our home inlet. Bailey, Babcock, Farber, Hoskins, Paradis Stern, and graduate student Emma Hammel were acknowledged with men's roster members Alefantis, Grass, Grassi, Hunt, Kenaston, Maynard, and graduate student Hoglin before making their traditional jump into the inlet. We couldn't be prouder to have shared the last four years with them. Their speed and leadership will be missed. 
 
Full racing coverage, presented again by students from our Park School of Communications, can be viewed here. 
 
Next up, the Bombers will compete at the Knecht Cup Regatta in Cherry Hill, N.J. on April 12-13.