WORCESTER, Mass. -- The No. 2 nationally ranked Bates women's rowing team outscored No. 1 Wellesley by nearly 20 points to capture the New England Rowing Championship Saturday on Lake Quinsigamond. Meanwhile, the men's team turned in a Herculean effort to qualify for the grand finals, as a significant chunk of the roster was out due to illness. 

"Today was a total team effort," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "I was really impressed how many people on both the women's and men's teams stepped up and filled different roles as needed. I couldn't be prouder of these results. Now, we need to get healthy for NIRCs coming up a week from Sunday." 

The Bates women scored a combined 92.11 points, first out of 25 programs competing at New Englands. The runner-up Blue finished with 72.93 points. 

Led by junior coxswain Isabella Sobolewski (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore stroke Genesis Bussey (Bronx, N.Y.), the Bates women's second varsity eight won its grand final in 6:45.360, defeating runner-up Williams by just under two seconds. Wellesley took third in 6:53.714. 

The Bobcats showed off their depth with a victory in the third varsity eight grand final as well. Led by sophomore coxswain Olivia Seline (Delaware, Ohio) and sophomore stroke Emily Everett (Fair Haven, N.J.), the 3V won in 6:58.036. Smith College finished second to the Bobcats in 6:59.220. 

In the ultimate showdown, the Bates first varsity eight finished a very close runner-up to the Blue. Wellesley crossed the line in 6:33.436 while Bates finished in 6:33.859. No one else was even close to the two crews, with third-place WPI recording a time of 6:40.119. NESCAC foes Wesleyan, Williams and Trinity all failed to make the 1V grand final.

On the men's side, the Bobcats only sent two boats, with both scoring points for Bates. The Bobcats scored 45.14 points, good for seventh place out of 24 schools. The men's first varsity eight and second varsity eight both finished fifth out of six crews in their respective grand finals. It was an impressive performance, especially considering the Bates men were missing 19 rowers due to illness.

"A combination of our 3V and 4V rowers raced in the 2V event," senior Robert Sobolewski (Oakton, Va.) said. "They qualified to the grand final and beat Trinity's 2V despite only rowing as a lineup for the first time on their way to the starting line of their first race of the regatta. Sophomore Celia Tolan (New York City), the 4V coxswain, was asked to cox the 2V, and she did a fabulous job."

"On top of that, guys who normally rowed in the 2V were asked to row in the 1V because half the boat was out sick," Sobolewski said. "The 3V coxswain, first-year Rowan Cody (Madison, Wis.) was asked to step up, and she did a phenomenal job. Moreover, our three-seat caught a fever on the morning we were supposed to leave for Worcester, so senior captain Steven Sparks (Simsbury, Conn.), six-seat who normally rows port, was asked to row starboard for the first time."

"Similar to the 2V boat, the 1V's first time in the new lineup was on their way to the starting line of their first race of the regatta. The 1V qualified for the grand final and beat Trinity's 1V."

Combined, the Bates women and men scored 137.25 points, good for second place out of 31 teams. Williams won the combined team championship with 143.53 points.

The Bates men and women are back in action on Sunday, May 8, at the National Invitational Rowing Championship, which also serves as the NESCAC Championship.

Bates WV8 lineup: Bow: Eliana Weissmann; 2: Molly Connors; 3: Sophia Marota; 4: Katarina Dickson; 5: Lillian Kinder; 6: Casey Winter; 7: Ollie Young; Stroke: Maeve Mikulski; c: Lucy Del Col

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

Bates W3V8 lineup: Bow: Beatrice Johnston; 2: Dominique Bunnell; 3: Madeline Hogan; 4: Miryam Keller; 5: Eloise Botka; 6: Hannah Burdick; 7: Josephine Stevens; Stroke: Emily Everett; c: Olivia Seline

Bates W4V8 lineup: Bow: Isabelle Larson; 2: Maggie Kornfeind; 3: Caitlin Chan; 4: Olivia Dekker; 5: Abby Marriott; 6: Julia Buzacott; 7: Yiwen Wu; Stroke: Chelsea Griscom; c: Isabel Beck

Bates W2V4 lineup: Bow: Madeline Kemp; 2: Claire Scott; 3: Kathryn Richards; 4: Rylee Eaton; c: Kerry Ettinger

Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Alexander Burbelo; 2: Colton Sochia; 3: Thomas Monahan; 4: William Crate; 5: Steven Sparks; 6: Espen Wheeler; 7: Robert Sobolewski; Stroke: Jack Fruechte; c: Rowan Cody

Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow: Martijn den Boon; 2: Nicholas Van Ingen; 3: Jimmy Staller; 4: Charles Renvyle; 5: Oliver Firmenich; 6: Andrew Frey; 7: Tom White; Stroke: Ian Van Loo; c: Celia Tolan