Bates College

The Bates second varsity eight won its eighth consecutive gold medal at the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships as the Bobcats finished national runner-up to Wellesley Saturday afternoon at Nathan Benderson Park. 

After multiple lighting delays Saturday morning, Bates finally got on the water in the early afternoon. Led by junior coxswain Isabella Sobolewski (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore stroke Genesis Bussey (Bronx, N.Y.), the second varsity eight won its race in 7:04.156. It was a wire-to-wire victory, but it did not come easy, as the Wellesley second varsity eight got second in 7:05.070. Bates earned 16 points for the victory while the Blue picked up 14 points.

The gold-medal winning 2V was made up entirely of Bobcats who had never competed at NCAAs previously in their careers. Nevertheless, they continued a Bates 2V tradition that dates back to 2014: winning the gold medal at NCAAs.

Bates W2V8 lineup: Bow: Darya Lee; 2: Hope Stamp; 3: Livia Bernhardt; 4: Abigail Somosky; 5: Mary Trafton; 6: Olivia Szachta; 7: Lydia Barker; Stroke: Genesis Bussey c: Isabella Sobolewski