ITHACA, N.Y. -- On October 24, the entire squad of Bomber rowers (men, women, sweep, scull and novice) competed at the Head of the Fish in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The regatta runs over a 3,200-meter course that starts with an S-turn before opening up into a 2,000-meter straightaway. The Fish is notable for its tight scheduling, potential for changing winds and, of course, the mounted fish-head trophies awarded to first-place finishers.

Throughout the regatta, the Bombers faced a deep field of competitors that ranged from Liberty League rival Rochester to Division I programs, including Cornell, Boston College, MIT, Albany and others. At the end of the day, the men were the ones to bring home a fish head (for their win in the 2v 8+), but several Ithaca lineups were able to put together solid pieces and crack into medal positions.

Collegiate 1x:
Julia DiCostanzo - 6th - 14:48
Jasmina Vahle - 9th - 15:18.9
Jamie Friedlander - 11th - 15:42.9

The day opened with calm water and light fog for the field of 1xs. DiCostanzo and Vahle rowed assertive pieces but were pushed to sixth and ninth, respectively, behind several strong entries from Middlebury, UVM, Riverside, Buffalo and Clarkson. Friedlander expressed some frustration with her piece after not executing the same connection she had been working on in practice but still finished ahead of racers from Skidmore and Clarkson.

Collegiate 2x:
March/McCulloch - 3rd - 13:41.0
Edwards/Catlin - 5th - 13:46.8
Owen/Veracka - 6th - 14:17.8
Mendoza-Arias/Chen - 8th - 14:20.7

The collegiate 2x brought another crop of Division I athletes to challenge the Bombers, with crews from Friends of Concord, Albany and Colgate peppering the field. The times revealed a few tight packs, with both Ithaca crews and their competitors finishing mere seconds apart. March and McCulloch stroked their way into the medals, while teammates Edwards and Catlin were shut out, finishing just five seconds behind.

Collegiate/Open 4x:
A - Edwards/Vahle/Catlin/DiCostanzo - 4th - 12:49.1
B - Silberman (cox)/March/Mendoza-Arias/McCulloch/Friedlander - 8th - 13:43.0
C - Hanlin (cox)/Bobak/Chen/Cox/Veracka - 10th - 14:13.7

At the Fish, 4x competitors may choose to row in either coxed or uncoxed lineups, and the event combines Collegiate and Open entries into one event. Schedule compression made this race nearly a hot-seat situation between the 2x and 4x events, but the crews pulled off the tight turnaround for one last run down the course. Ithaca's A entry finished in fourth place behind entries from Riverside and GMS, just shy of the medals but first among the collegiate crews entered.

Collegiate Frosh/Novice 4:
(c) Emma Hall, Ellie Mamakos, Zoe Benedict, Dimitra Katsaras, Ella Cuoco - 3rd - 14:14.9

This Bomber 4+ was comprised of experienced first-years. The crew secured bronze in a moderate headwind. The athletes felt they could have gone faster with a few technical adjustments but were pleased with the result (and the medals).

Collegiate 4+s:
A - (c) Payton Fisch, Ava Connor, Nora Stewart, Katherine Sernick, Maisie Sagaas - 27th - 13:58.2
B - (c) Kaelyn Morandi, Stella Kartsonas, Julia Sweet, Maeve Van Jura, Liz Petska - 38th - 15:26.9

The 4+ event was PACKED this year. There were 42 entries in all, with many Division I teams sending up to four crews down the course in a moderate headwind. The Bomber A lineup finished 27th in the official results but was sixth among its Division III peers in the event. Fisch's lineup reported a series of bad strokes estimated to have cost them around 10 seconds but felt the remaining 13:48 was executed to standard. The B lineup found another gear relative to how they had felt in practice and were excited about their clean run down the course.

Frosh/Novice 8:
(c) Gwen Sweet, Emily Melveney, Larkin Hanna, Lucia Logue-Perron, Nataly Martinez Chavez, Molly Gasior, Lucia Pulido, Delaney Szwast - 10th - 13:00.8

The Bomber Frosh/Novice 8 was another crew facing a stacked event. In a category that included both Division I competitors and experienced freshmen, we proudly fielded a boat comprised entirely of walk-on novices. The crew was able to flip the result against Rochester, which had beaten them two weeks earlier at the Genesee, and finished within five seconds of Army (a team that always fields tough novices). We are excited to see their skills developing so quickly. The rowing world is their oyster.

It was a joy to have the full squad together at the races. As mentioned at the top, the Ithaca men showed some of our best results of the day, bringing home a fish head and two other second-place finishes. Check out a summary of their racing HERE.

Complete results from the day's events can be viewed on CrewTimer.