Trinity Women's Crew Defends National Title As Fastest Boat In Division III This Weekend
Hartford, Conn., May 28, 2009 - The Trinity College women's rowing team, which recorded a 12-1 record in dual races this spring and finished third in the New England Championships earlier this month, has been selected for the NCAA Division III National Championships on May 29-30 in Camden, N.J. The Bantams, coached by Wesley Ng (3rd Season), will be making their seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regatta.
The Trinity College Bantam women's varsity eight crew finished third in the grand final of the New England Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond on May 2. The Bantams posted a time of 6:58.521, which was 0.44 seconds behind second-place Bates and 2.64 slower than first-place Williams. New Hampshire, Holy Cross, and Smith followed in fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. The Bantams were the defending New England women's varsity eight champions. Trinity's second varsity and third varsity eights both came in fourth place in their respective grand final races.
Along with Trinity and Williams, NESCAC rival Bates, Ithaca, Puget Sound, St. Lawrence and Smith were granted NCAA at-large selections. Those seven teams will compete for the NCAA Championship title, which is given to the team with the highest combined score of its first and second varsity eight crews. The first varsity eights from Washington College and Willamette will also compete for the Varsity Eights National Championship but will not have a second boat in the regatta.
In both 2005 and last spring, the Bantam varsity eight won the Grand Final race, but were outscored in the overall standings due to very strong places both the first- and second eights from other schools. Last season, Trinity dusted the six-boat field in the grand final to win the 2008 NCAA Division III Women's Rowing Varsity Eight National Championship title on Lake Natoma in Northern California. The Bantam first varsity eight crew led from start to finish and posted a time of 6:57.01, which was 3.59 seconds faster than second-place Williams. Williams' first and second varsity eights captured second and third place in the grand final, however, which gave the defending team champions the NCAA overall crown. Trinity's second varsity eight came in third place in the petite final at 7:13.16, giving Trinity 21 overall points for second place in the team standings. Williams won with 25 points and Ithaca and Puget Sound were third with 15 points apiece.
The first varsity eight boat at the NCAA Championships will include senior tri-captains Natalie Jones (Haverford, Pa.), Amory Minot (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), and Ashley Swigget (Basking Ridge, N.J.), senior Eveline Case (New Canaan, Conn.), juniors Deede Dixon (Manchester, Mass.) and Eleanor Wierzbowski (Walpole, N.H.), junior coxswain Stephanie Apstein (Waban, Mass.), and sophomores Mina Aiken (Palm Beach, Fla.) and Jamie Callahan (North Andover, Mass.)
The second varsity eight boat at the NCAA Championships will include senior Alexandra Purdie (Linwood, N.J.), junior Hannah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and junior coxswain Courteney Coyne (Westwood, Mass.), sophomores Remi Evans (Englewood, Colo.), Sarah Keller (Perrysburg, Ohio), Tracey Suter (Haddonfield, N.J.), and LeAire Wilson (Wenham, Mass.) and freshmen Sophie Hollingsworth (Shaker Heights, Ohio) and Lauren Rice (Winchester, Mass.).
Trinity is currently ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/USRowing Division III National Poll. This week's CRCA/US Rowing Division III National Top Ten: 1. Williams 140, 2. Trinity (Conn.) 129, 3. Ithaca 126, 4. Bates 120, 5. Puget Sound 108, 6. Smith 107, 7. St. Lawrence 94, 8. Mount Holyoke 92, 9. Willamette 85, 10. William Smith 76.
