SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Bates women's rowing team swept its heats for the third straight season, with the first varsity eight winning in a thriller over Wellesley Friday at the NCAA Championships. 

With the pair of wins, No. 3 nationally ranked Bates advanced directly to Saturday's grand finals, with the second varsity eight racing at 10:48am and the first varsity eight racing at 11:36am. Fans can watch Saturday's grand finals here.

"Good performances from both boats today," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "They advanced directly to the finals which saves us from being out in the heat this afternoon, and it sets them up nicely for tomorrow's championship races." 

The second varsity eight got the day started on the right foot. Led by junior coxswain Isabella Sobolewski (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore stroke Genesis Bussey (Bronx, N.Y.), the Bobcats led runner-up Ithaca wire-to-wire, racing to the finish in 6:54.598. The Bombers crossed the finish line in 6:57.006, also advancing directly to Saturday's grand final. Tufts came in third in 7:07.020 and Pacific Lutheran took fourth in 7:44.667. 

In the other second varsity eight heat, Wellesley (6:51.975) and Williams (6:57.007) did enough to join Bates and Ithaca in Saturday's grand final. 

Meanwhile, the first varsity eight defeated the Blue of No. 2 nationally ranked Wellesley College for the first time since April 9th. Wellesley's 1V had won three straight races over the Bobcats until Friday, when Bates won by less than a second. Led by sophomore coxswain Lucy Del Col (Wellesley, Mass.) and junior stroke Ollie Young (Burlington, Vt.), Bates raced to the finish in 6:40.082. Wellesley crossed the line in 6:40.810, setting up an intriguing grand final on Saturday. Williams provided a strong challenge early before finishing third in 6:44.722 and Pacific Lutheran finished fourth in 7:08.768. 

In the other first varsity eight heat, WPI caught the attention of the field by out-racing top-ranked Ithaca 6:41.567 to 6:41.622. 

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

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

Alternate: Hannah Burdick

Alternate: Josephine Stevens

Alternate Cox: Olivia Seline