Athletics

Varsity Sports

Women's Crew

Overview

Three-year letter winners Kelsey Burke '13, Helen Higgins '13 and Rachel Johnson '13 lead Hamilton College women's crew into 2012-13. Fiona Hoffman-Harland '13 is the other senior. Burke (coxswain) and Higgins (4-seat) are two of five returners that were members of the varsity eight at the 2012 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships. The others are Karly Moore '15, Rebecca Straw '14 and Allie Hoeltzel '14. Hamilton's varsity eight finished second in the petite final at last year's ECAC championships. The varsity eight was third in their preliminary heat and turned in the fifth-fastest qualifying time out of 19 entries.

Holly Bailey '12 and Antonia Villa '12 helped lead one of the top women's crews in NCAA Division III last year. Bailey was a 2012 second team all-America selection by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), and was on the NESCAC all-conference first team. She is the first all-American since women's crew was awarded varsity status at Hamilton prior to the 1998-99 academic year. Villa earned NESCAC all-conference second team and ECAC all-conference honors. Bailey and Villa graduated in May.

Hamilton finished last spring at No. 10 in the final USRowing/CRCA Division III Top 15 poll. The NCAA had the team and the varsity eight ranked third in the New York Region. The varsity eight ended up fourth in the grand final at the 2012 New York State Championships. Hamilton claimed silver medals in the women's fours at the 2011 Head of the Charles and in the open fours at the 2012 ECAC Championships. The program captured the Tampa Mayor's Cup points trophy for the second straight year during spring break in March 2012. The varsity eight took first place in five of the first seven races last spring.

The varsity eight defeated Union College in April 2012 to capture the Gilman Plate for the seventh straight year. Hamilton competes against Union every spring for the Gilman Plate and Gilman Goblet. The Plate is awarded to the varsity eight champion, and the second varsity eight winner receives the Goblet. Hamilton also retained the Goblet in 2012. The hardware stays with the winning school until the programs meet again the following year.

Hamilton was No. 10 in the final 2011 Division III coaches poll, and made appearances in the 2008 and 2010 polls. The team was ranked in the New York Region by the NCAA in 2007 and 2011. Allie Boyaris '12 was selected to the 2011 NESCAC All-Conference first team, and Burke was placed on the second team. Elizabeth Collins '10 was on the inaugural NESCAC all-conference team in 2010.

In 2009 at the New York State championships, Hamilton tied for fifth place in the point standings out of 27 programs, and received the award for most improved team. Head coach Eric Summers took 14 women's team members to England in the summer of 2008 to compete in the Reading Amateur Regatta and the Henley Women's Regatta.

Johnson gained valuable experience during the summer of 2012 as she competed in the USRowing Club National Championships. She was part of Pennsylvania Athletic Club Rowing Association entries that picked up silver medals in the women's senior lightweight 4+ and the women's intermediate double.

Hoeltzel rowed with the Vesper Boat Club in the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls at the U.S. 2011 Under-23 World Championships Trials. Bailey rowed with the Pennsylvania Athletic Club in 2010 as part of a lightweight women’s quadruple scull at the U.S. Under-23 trials. Bailey won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2010 U.S. Rowing Club Nationals, and captured three gold medals at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta that same year.

Exceptional academic performance is important to the crew programs. Sophie Breene '12, Dominique Paiement '12 and Bailey made the 2012 NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team. The team is restricted to letter winners in the sophomore, junior and senior classes that have a cumulative grade point average of 3.35 or better. Breene and Paiement were named national scholar-athletes for Divisions II/III by the CRCA in 2012.

The fall season starts on Oct. 6 with Hamilton's Bridge-to-Bridge Head Race on the Erie Canal. Hamilton races in Boston (Head of the Charles) and Philadelphia (Head of the Schuylkill) later in October. The spring season features a two-week training trip in March. Hamilton traveled to Tampa, Fla., in 2012 and competed in the Tampa Mayor’s Cup for the third straight year. The New York State championships and the ECAC championships highlight the spring schedule.