Trinity Women's Rowing Ranked No. 5 Nationally Heading Into First Spring Races
Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantam women's rowing varsity eight crew is ranked No. 5 in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/USRowing Division III Pre-Season National Poll. The Bantams open the 2011 spring season on Coventry Lake against Division I foes Connecticut, LaSalle, and Marist on Saturday, April 2. The Bantams, coached by Wesley Ng (4th Season), finished the 2010 season with a 13-3 varsity-eight dual record and placed sixth in the New England Championships, third in the ECAC Regatta (2nd among NESCAC schools), and third in the NCAA Division III Championship Regatta. The Trinity men's and women's rowing squad also took Combined Overall Points Trophy at the ECAC Regatta. Trinity enjoyed a productive fall campaign that included a second-place finish at Yale's Head of the Housatonic and first-place trophies for the varsity eight and in the Overall Points Standings at the Head of the Schuylkill.
The Bantams are poised to both contend for an eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship Regatta and to help Trinity Rowing in its shared goal with the men's squad to repeat as Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Combined Overall Points Trophy Champions. Fielding three varsity eights and strong novice crew in 2011, the Bantams return six members of last spring's first varsity that came in fourth in the NCAA Championship Grand Final but must replace three members of that boat, including 2010 All-American stroke seat Deede Dixon, and both of its 2010 varsity coxswains.
Senior captain Jamie Callahan (North Andover, Mass.) and classmate Sarah Keller (Perrysburg, Ohio), who rowed for the United States U-19 squad in the summer, are among the six returnees from last year's top crew. Fellow senior Mina Aiken (Palm Beach, Fla.) is also back with sophomores standouts Robin Neschke (Still River, Mass.), Nicole Maleh (Dover, Mass.), and Emily Bower (Cincinnati, Ohio). The freshman class is contributing to the program on many levels, as the novice eight is strong and several newcomers are rowing in varsity boats as rookies.