The University of Rhode Island women’s rowing team braved through the elements in the Overpeck Invitational on Saturday in Ridgefield, New Jersey.
The Varsity 4+ and Second Varsity 4+ squads went undefeated in both of their races. The lineup of second-year Evelyn Tabor seated as coxswain, first-year Maia Hembruff taking stroke seat, fourth-year Alexis Moore in three seat, second-year Abby Galayda in two seat and second-year Amelia Katula in the bow bested George Washington University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the morning race.
Before the Rams got on the water for the afternoon slate, the Varsity 4+ brought in second-year Irma Accius from the Second Varsity 4+ lineup in place of Hembruff, who got moved to the second varsity 8+ in place of second-year Jasmyn Hayes. Hayes filled in for Accius’ seat for the Second Varsity 4+ lineup. The Varsity 4+ crossed the finish line in their second race with a time of 9:18.9, putting them over Navy’s time of 9:40.9.
Hayes was also on the Second Varsity 8+ crew during the first race, led by second-year coxswain Lily Stasaitis. The boat changed lineups before the afternoon race, where they took down Navy and Bucknell University.
The Second Varsity 4+ crew, consisting of fourth-year cox Sawyer McNish, Accius, second-year Emma Brookins, fourth-year Emily Olin and first-year Brigid McShea, defeated GWU, Columbia University and the University of Connecticut in the morning races. The Rams finished nine seconds ahead of GWU, crossing the finish line in 9:18.8. The afternoon slate had a similar finish as the Rams beat out Columbia, UMass and UConn with a time of 9:02.5. The second-place finishers, GWU, finished with a time of 9:10.8.
The only URI crew to not finish in the top two of their race was the Third Varsity 8+ unit that was bested by UMass and UConn in the morning. They finished with a time of 10:10.7 after a collision with another boat caused them to come to a stop. The crew, following some pre-race adjustments, significantly improved not only their time but placement in the second race, getting second place with a time of 8:18.6. Bucknell University got the first-place finish, besting Rhode Island by two seconds, finishing in 8:16.4. Meanwhile, GWU was right on the Rams tail until the end, finishing just three-tenths of a second behind Rhody.
A major factor during the day was the windy weather, according to URI Head Coach Shelagh Donohoe.
“We haven’t had a full week on the water with the weather this spring,” Donohoe said. “I think every time we go out and we compete, we see something and we’re still making adjustments and we’re trying to figure out lineups.”
Regarding line up changes after the morning races for the afternoon races, Donohoe said she was trying to put the team in the best possible position to win races.
“We’re trying to figure out the best combinations and only time is going to help us there and time being on the water,” Donohoe said.
Moore, a member of the Varsity 4+ crew for both the morning and afternoon races, understood the difficulty and challenges that came with changes in the lineup and having to get a new person on the same wavelength as the rest of the crew.
“I think the lineup changes really lit a fire underneath us,” Moore said. “It’s really told us that we have to adapt with any situation.”
Up next, the Rams head up north to the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts where they will take on the Boston University Terriers and Northeastern University Huskies on Saturday.