BOSTON -- The Bates women's rowing team entered three boats in the world-famous Head of the Charles Regatta on Sunday, coming away with some impressive performances.

Led by sophomore coxswain Sophie Shaw (Great Barrington, Mass.) and junior stroke seat Virginia Adams (Hanover, N.H.), the Bates first varsity eight navigated the serpentine 4,800-meter course on the Charles River in 16:54.838, good for fifth place out of 29 teams in the women's collegiate eights race. It's an improvement of five spots from a year ago for the 1V and marks the 11th time in the past 13 years that Bates has placed in the top five in the women's collegiate eights race.

"Shaw deserves credit for a terrific run down the course," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "She gave her crew every advantage she could by making it as straight as possible, allowing them to focus on pulling hard and going fast. We're really happy with a top-5 finish."

Meanwhile, the second varsity eight finished 18th in the collegiate eights race, an improvement of two spots from a year ago and the crew's best finish at the HOCR since 2023. The 2V crossed the finish line in 17:46.886, the third-fastest time among all 2V boats entered in the race.

The Bobcats also entered a boat in the collegiate fours race and Bates finished in 19:33.492, good for 18th place in the field of 36 crews.

Bates is back in action this Saturday when they take on rivals Bowdoin and Colby in the CBB Chase.

Bates WV8 lineup: Bow: Ava Teleki; 2: Eliza Hogan; 3: Fili Keszti; 4: Greta Oberdiek; 5: Megan O'Donnell; 6: Maggie Gill; 7: Adina Suchman; Stroke: Virginia Adams; c: Sophie Shaw

Bates W2V8 lineup: Bow: Izzie Switanek; 2: Juliana Loesche; 3: Julia Krugh; 4: Carolyn Musselwhite; 5: Zeiva Sussman; 6: Meghan Head; 7: Molly Frank; Stroke: Haley Garrett; c: Riley Tran

Bates WV4 lineup: Bow: Cal Dagner; 2: Kiki Hillery; 3: Froney Dreher; 4: Charlotte Comrack; c: Daphne Botero