For the fifth time in six years, the University of Rhode Island rowing team are Atlantic 10 champions.
The Rams amassed 52 points to win their 10th Championship in program history, which took place on May 18 on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Through three point-scoring Grand Final races, the team finished five points ahead of second-place University of Massachusetts with two wins.
“I actually broke down in tears [celebrating the win],” fifth-year captain Catie Castle said. “There’s such small margins to make up in rowing, and one little inch can give you a mile of speed. Knowing that we had done that and accomplished that and kind of taking us out of that sort of unknown was really awesome.”
The Second Varsity 8+ was the first to collect a first-place finish in their Grand Final. Comprised of third-year coxswain Ellie McGee, fourth-year Jessica Tosi, fourth-year Olivia Kowalski, third-year Hailey Pardi, fifth-year Sammie Gorecki, first-year Eryn Wale, first-year Amanda Cubit, first-year Maia Hembruff and second-year Emma Larsh, the boat overtook Umass to set the foundation for the title-winning run.
Quickly following the team’s first win, the First Varsity 8+ boat secured the Championship with a first-place finish of their own. The boat of second-year coxswain Lily Stasaitis, Castle, second-year Bethany Nordstrom, fourth-year Nicole Jones, fourth-year Samantha Gumprecht, second-year Cait Reardon, second-year Emma Barnhart, fourth-year Sarah Pecoraro and third-year Bella Bruno eclipsed George Washington University in a closely-contested final sprint to bring home the team’s second win of the day and secure their 10th Atlantic 10 Championship.
“We came to practice that week just really dialed in and focused,” Castle said. “I’ve been on this team for five years and I’ve never seen the team so proactive and wanting to actually get after it. We felt like a true high-performing, almost senior-level team in the way that we were approaching things and working together.”
URI’s final sprint against GW was the third time the two schools had seen each other this season. Going into the Championship, they had not been able to beat the Revolutionaries’ First Varsity 8+ boat, which Castle said served as motivation for the team during practice.
“GW put up a really great fight all the way up until about 700 meters to go,” Castle said. “At that point, we were about a seat down, and I know I had made the decision and I could feel my teammates were making the decision that we weren’t going to let it happen again. And we really just put the hammer down and dug into something that we had been doing all year, which was just being really hard and kind of nasty and protective of what we want and what we need as a team.”
Also competing in Grand Finals were the Third Varsity 8+ and First Varsity 4+ boats, who both finished fourth in their respective races. The Second Varsity 4+ boat also picked up a podium finish, crossing the finish line third.
“I feel like the athletes always believed the mission and they always believed what we were doing, the training plan and what we were talking to them about,” URI Head Coach Shelagh Donohoe said. “They bought into what we were talking about, and because they did that every race, if we lost by a little bit, they were still encouraged, like, ‘Ok, it’s coming. Ok, it’s coming,’ after every weekend.”
Following the race, Donohoe earned her ninth A-10 Coach of the Year nod in 18 seasons at the helm. In a decorated career in charge, the former Olympic silver medalist has led Rhody to nine of their 10 total titles, and all seven of their National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship appearances.
“I don’t think I’ll ever find a coach that is more demanding of her athletes yet supportive at the same time,” Castle said. “She has such a unique style of coaching that I gravitate towards, and she’s taught me how to be resilient in a way that I don’t think any other coach will or any other life lesson will. And for that, I’m really grateful for her.”
The win saw Castle, Jones and Nordstrom all pick up an All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection, while Barnhart was selected to the Second Team. The selections were the 75th, 76th, 77th and 78th All-Conference athletes that Donohoe has coached during her tenure at URI.
“Our athletes [have done a good job] to stay above just winning and losing and really thinking about their progress and really focusing on getting faster and being in the moment, instead of thinking, ‘Oh, they beat us,’” Donohoe said. “I think the state of mind of our athletes has been very mature and they’re able to see the whole picture.”
While the conference season is wrapped up, the race isn’t over for Rhode Island quite yet. Following the NCAA selection show on May 21 that officially confirmed their seeding, the Rams will head to Bethel, Ohio to compete in the national championship at East Fork/Harsha Lake from Friday to Sunday for the seventh time in program history. For Donohoe and the rest of the team, their goal is to use their momentum to place inside the top 18 nationally.