GREENE, Maine -- The Bates rowing program celebrated legends of the past and made a statement about the present with yet another victory in the 27th annual President's Cup Regatta, held Sunday morning at the Traquina Boathouse.

Competing against rivals Colby and Bowdoin, the Bobcats won the outright President's Cup title for the 12th straight time. They have captured at least a share of first place each of the last 15 years the regatta has been held.

The Bates women's and men's rowing teams accumulated 26 points on the day, with Colby tallying 16, and Bowdoin finishing with 14.

Racing started at 9 a.m. with the women's first varsity eight taking to the water. 

Led by first-year coxswain Hannah Herbst (Larkspur, Calif.) and senior captain stroke seat Hannah Burdick (Lyme, N.H.), the No. 1 nationally ranked Bobcats raced to the finish in 7:01.0, taking first place and the maximum five points. Bowdoin took runner-up honors in 7:10.9 while Colby was a distant third in 7:37.9.

Next up, the men's first varsity eight had some business to attend to, as they entered the day ranked just ahead of Colby in the IRCA Coaches Poll. Led by sophomore coxswain Darien Chiang (Quincy, Mass.) and junior stroke seat Luke Desmaison (New York City), the No. 5 nationally ranked Bobcats left no doubt, outracing No. 6 Colby by more than 10 seconds with a time of 5:59.4. The Mules crossed the finish line in 6:10.3 and Bowdoin took third in 6:26.1

With the first varsity eights setting the tone, the women's third and fourth varsity eights were up next. Led by first-year coxswain Shoshana Levy (Arlington, Va.) and sophomore stroke seat Charlotte Comrack (Washington, D.C.), the 3V won the four-boat race in 7:41.0. The Bowdoin third varsity eight finished second in 8:05.7, while the Bates fourth varsity eight finished ahead of the Bowdoin 4V in 8:25.4 as the Polar Bears crossed the finish line in 9:06.1.

The morning continued with the second varsity eight races. Coming off a big win over the MIT heavyweights on Saturday, the Bates men's second varsity eight fended off a tough Colby crew. Led by senior coxswain Izzy Beck (Upper Montclair, N.J.) and senior captain stroke seat Ian Van Loo (Seattle), the Bobcats took first place in 6:28.6. Colby was second with a time of 6:33.0 while Bowdoin pulled up the rear in 6:43.7.

By contrast, the women's second varsity eight race wasn't even remotely close. Led by first-year coxswain Leah Brody (Larchmont, N.Y.) and senior captain stroke seat Rylee Eaton (Little Deer Isle, Maine), the Bobcats overwhelmed the Bowdoin and Colby 2Vs, winning in 7:38.6. Bowdoin was nearly 20 seconds back at 7:58.0 and Colby finished last in 8:22.9.

"The women put together a string of dominant performances and fought off challenges from some very scrappy Bowdoin crews," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "All crews performed well today as they worked together to retain the President's Cup for the 17th time in 27 contests." 

Before the fours took to the water, the men's third and fourth varsity eights took on the Colby and Bowdoin 3Vs in a four-boat race. Led by junior coxswain Micah Shimizu (Batavia, Ill.) and sophomore stroke seat Finian Guinney (Seattle), the 3V won the race in come-from-behind fashion, crossing the line in 6:36.3 as Colby finished second with a time of 6:40.9.

"On the men's side the races were quite close with Colby," Steenstra said. "We knew they had an influx of athletes this year and would be a challenge. It was a great comeback by the 3V, overcoming a half-boat deficit to Colby with 600m to go and winning by a little over four seconds."

In addition to going undefeated in all six eights races, the Bobcats impressed with their younger talent in the novice fours as well. With Herbst once again leading the way at coxswain, the women's novice four of first-years Greta Oberdiek (Merion Station, Pa.), Mackenzie Higgins (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mia Senturk (Park City, Utah), and Caitlin Regan (Bethesda, Md.) won their race in 8:29.3, easily distancing themselves from the Mules (8:42.5) and the Polar Bears (9:03.0).

In the men's novice four, first-year coxswain Benji Cao (Sharon, Mass.) guided fellow rookies Peter Gratwick (Oakland Park, Fla.), Thomas Pacinda (Newton, Mass.), Sam Perozek (Boston), and Cooper Drazek (Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa) to victory in 7:16.6. The Colby novice four was second in 7:37.0 while Bowdoin finished third in 7:55.8.

In addition to the excitement on the water, the Bobcats honored the 2015 NCAA Division III champion Bates women's rowing team after the races concluded, announcing that the 2015 crew will be one of the first inductees into the Bates Athletics Hall of Fame. A number of Bobcats from that season returned to celebrate 10 years since the college's first team NCAA championship. Bates also christened a new boat, "The Cadillac", which the women's first varsity eight used to row to first place in their race on Sunday.

"With this very productive and informative weekend of racing behind us we're primed and ready to enter the championship portion of our season beginning with the New England Rowing Championship," said Steenstra.

The New England Rowing Championship is set for this Saturday in Worcester, Mass. on Lake Quinsigamond.

Bates WV8 lineup: Bow: Cal Dagner; 2: Tatum Holley; 3: Isabelle Martin; 4: Maggie Gill; 5: Quinn Gleason; 6: Olivia Szachta; 7: Olivia Smith; Stroke: Hannah Burdick; c: Hannah Herbst

Bates W2V8 lineup: Bow: Hannah de Fontaine; 2: Mia Senturk; 3: Maddie Kemp; 4: Kiki Hillery; 5: Megan O'Donnell; 6: Greta Oberdiek; 7: Elizabeth Gramley; Stroke: Rylee Eaton; c: Leah Brody

Bates W3V8 lineup: Bow: Caitlin Regan; 2: Evie Fox; 3: Virginia Adams; 4: Arden Minor; 5: Froney Dreher; 6: Maggie Kornfeind; 7: Miryam Keller; Stroke: Charlotte Comrack; c: Shoshana Levy

Bates W4V8 lineup: Bow: Kat O'Connell; 2: Dominique Bunnell; 3: Olivia Hill; 4: Athalia Blasser Mulligan; 5: Merrill Doherty; 6: Ella Lisle; 7: Eva Calcutt; Stroke: Julia Buzacott; c: Sara Maquera

Bates WV4 lineup: Bow: Ella Westhoff; 2: Noa Hart; 3: Willow West; 4: Taylor Glick; c: Sarah Wallace

Bates WN4 lineup: Bow: Caitlin Regan; 2: Mia Senturk; 3: Mackenzie Higgins; 4: Greta Oberdiek; c: Hannah Herbst

Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Erik Lindholm; 2: Sean Christiansen; 3: Lando Putnam-Bagley; 4: Conor McGuckin; 5: Oliver Firmenich; 6: Charles Renvyle; 7: George Fauver; Stroke: Luke Desmaison; c: Darien Chiang

Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow: Thomas Pacinda; 2: John Cleary; 3: Kelly McKaige; 4: Leo Sullivan; 5: Jimmy Staller; 6: Ben Auerbach; 7: Luke Johnson; Stroke: Ian Van Loo; c: Izzy Beck

Bates M3V8 lineup: Bow: Micah Johnson; 2: Hugh McCabe; 3: Benji Richards; 4: Sam Williams; 5: Alex Appleton; 6: Nicholas Hoerle; 7: Wiley Anderson; Stroke: Finian Guinney; c: Micah Shimizu

Bates M4V8 lineup: Bow: Ryan Berger; 2: Lorenzo Songsare-Shevy; 3: EJ Herrmann; 4: Aidan O'Brien; 5: Robert Meier; 6: Aarav Worah; 7: Nate Oh; Stroke: Mason Choiniere Barr; c: Hannah Daher

Bates MV4 lineup: Bow: Randy Li; 2: Louis Consigli; 3: Xavier Drouin; 4: Diego Davalos; c: Melinda Kostrinsky

Bates MN4 lineup: Bow: Cooper Drazek; 2: Sam Perozek; 3: Thomas Pacinda; 4: Peter Gratwick; c: Benji Cao