SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Skidmore Thoroughbreds took to Fish Creek for the Liberty League Championships. The team fielded two men's 8s and two women's 8s to compete against rivals William Smith, Ithaca, University of Rochester, RIT, Union, St. Lawrence, and St. John Fisher. The weather was 50 degrees and sunny, with a slight headwind contributing to slower racing conditions.

MEN'S RECAP
The men's Second Varsity 8+ entered as the #2 seed in their event behind Ithaca, Union A, RIT, and Union B. The crew included coxswain Isadora Fuller, Hudson Till in the stroke seat, Nestor Martinez in 7, Andrew Bertucci in 6, Dimitri Moschochoritis in 5, Joe Papaccio in 4, Riley Mook in 3, Felix Kissell in 2, and David Steinberger in the bow. The crew took second place overall, finishing in 6:52.44—10.4 seconds behind winner Ithaca. Union A took third, RIT finished fourth, and Union B placed fifth.

In the Varsity 8+, the Thoroughbreds took second in 6:31.96. The crew remained the same from their NYS Championship lineup, with Hayden Harlow as the coxswain, sophomore Will Landro in stroke, captain Grant Steinberger at 7, Thomas du Four in 6, Charles Ertz in 5, Henry Shannon in 4, Sam van Adrichem Boogaert in 3, Kal Katz in 2, and Van de Venecia in the bow. #8 Ithaca took the win with a time of 6:23.59 and, with the victory, earned the automatic bid to the IRA National Championship in Sacramento, CA.

"Really proud of our crew today even if it didn't go our way," said junior Charles Ertz. "It feels good to be a competitive boat and to pull some fast times."

WOMEN'S RECAP
In the women's 2V event, William Smith took the win in 7:15.82, followed by the University of Rochester and Ithaca. The Thoroughbreds finished fourth in the event, followed by St. Lawrence, RIT, and Union. Brie Chirco was the coxswain, with Nicolette Kirwan and Sophia Peterson in the stern pair. Harper Staton-Todaro, Amalia Inhofe, Charlotte Visger, and Beilynn Geiss sat in the engine room of the crew, with Ava Hammond and Lila Glanville in the bow pair.

In the women's 1V event, Skidmore took second place behind #8 William Smith, 6:52.17 to 7:02.0. Cam High, Camilla Johnson, Delaney Miller, Ollie Bronson, Norah Jankey, Madison Lofmark, Grady Vermilye, Ava Holthoff, and Charlotte Taylor finished ahead of #12 University of Rochester, #13 Ithaca College, RIT, and St. Lawrence.

"Today was a great day for the women's 1V!" said coxswain Camilla High. "Our first race was clean and well executed, and for our second race, all eight rowers brought the power right off the start and didn't let up for a single stroke until we crossed the finish line. The hard work we've been doing all semester was clear to see in our performance today, and I am so proud of the boat!"

FROM HEAD COACH MANNY VALENTIN
"Today was a great day for the team," said Head Coach Manny Valentin. "Following the NY State Championships, we put a heavy emphasis on a few key areas. We wanted to prioritize recovery as we entered the taper. We wanted to do less work, but higher-quality work. And we wanted to execute an explosive start. For the past two weeks, we really hammered home those points with the hopes of executing on race day.

"For the men's 1V and 2V, they got out of the blocks fast and stayed close with an excellent Ithaca crew while walking away from the rest of the pack. For our women's 1V, we stayed composed in our heat with the intention of having a great final—and we did have a great final. We just lost to an excellent William Smith team. And while our women's 2V didn't get out of the start like the rest of the crews, they had a battle for fourth, dug deep, and earned their finish in a well-executed sprint. Programmatically, our senior class has brought our program really far, and I am proud of today's efforts!"

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds head to Worcester for the National Intercollegiate Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond on May 10th.