WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Bates rowing teams turned in strong races at the New England Championship on Saturday, with women placing fourth in the final points standings and the men taking fifth. 

"We're really happy with how the teams performed this weekend," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "Some crews learned about their skill and strategy, others discovered their strength and ability." 

On the women's side, the first varsity eight placed second in their morning heat to NCAA Division I program MIT with a time of 7:12.749. Notably, they finished six seconds ahead of NESCAC foe Wesleyan in the race. 

Then in the final, the 1V took fourth place, but finished second among NESCAC programs. Led by sophomore coxswain Leah Brody (Larchmont, N.Y.) and sophomore stroke seat Virginia Adams (Hanover, N.H.), the Bobcats raced to the finish in 6:48. MIT won the race in 6:44.602. Williams took second in 6:46.132 and Middlebury, which is not a NESCAC rowing program, surprised everyone as a club team finishing third in 6:47.710. In an encouraging sign, Bates finished nearly six seconds ahead of two-time NCAA Division III champion Tufts 

"The women's varsity 8 has revealed itself as the second fastest boat in the NESCAC," Steenstra said. "This bodes well as we head into next weekend's conference championship regatta with the goal of earning an automatic qualification spot for NCAAs."

Elsewhere, the women's fourth varsity eight earned a silver medal. Led by first-year coxswain Riley Tran (Broomfield, Colo.) and sophomore stroke seat Kat O'Connell (Larchmont, N.Y.), the Bobcats placed second out of four boats in their grand final in 8:07.781, behind Tufts (8:01.184) but well-ahead of Smith (8:26.897) and Trinity (8:33.973).

Every women's crew made their respective grand final on Saturday, with the second varsity eight placing sixth in 7:02.574 and the third varsity eight taking fourth in 7:15.616.

The women's team scored 40.80 points overall, placing just behind Williams (43.20) and Trinity (42.30) in the final points standings. Despite their fifth-place showing the WV8 grand final, Tufts still easily won the points trophy, scoring 76 points on Saturday.

On the men's side, the first varsity eight placed third in their heat in 6:12.018 before bouncing back to win the petite final in 6:02.841. In a tight battle with Tufts and Colby, the second varsity eight also placed third in their heat in 6:05.999. Colby was second in 6:05.909 and Tufts won in 6:05.005. The Bobcats went on to win their petite final in 6:13.641.

"The men's 2V8 had an amazing heat and missed out on the grand final by only 0.09 seconds," Steenstra said. "They showed great maturity by winning the petite final by open water."

The men's third varsity eight did qualify for their grand final and took sixth overall in 6:30.201. 

Overall, the men's team scored 62.50 points, just seven points behind fourth-place Williams and ahead of rival Colby (56 points).

The Bobcats are back in action a week from Sunday when they return to Lake Quinsigamond for the National Invitational Rowing Championship, which also will determine the NESCAC champions in women's and men's rowing.

Bates New England Rowing Championship Lineups:

Bates WV8 lineup: Bow: Hannah de Fontaine; 2: Greta Oberdiek; 3: Isabelle Martin; 4: Megan O'Donnell; 5: Quinn Gleason; 6: Maggie Gill; 7: Olivia Smith; Stroke: Virginia Adams; c: Leah Brody

Bates W2V8 lineup: Bow: Fili Keszti; 2: Mia Senturk; 3: Froney Dreher; 4: Adina Suchman; 5: Arden Minor; 6: Kiki Hillery; 7: Ava Teleki; Stroke: Charlotte Comrack; c: Shoshana Levy

Bates W3V8 lineup: Bow: Cal Dagner; 2: Olivia Hill; 3: Merrill Doherty; 4: Carolyn Musselwhite; 5: Ella Lisle; 6: Taylor Glick; 7: Caitlin Davidson; Stroke: Evie Fox; c: Sophie Shaw

Bates WV48 lineup: Bow: Isabelle Switanek; 2: Ella Westhoff; 3: Zeiva Sussman; 4: Juliana Loesche; 5: Athalia Blasser Mulligan; 6: Eva Calcutt; 7: Mackenzie Higgins; Stroke: Kat O'Connell; c: Riley Tran

Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Erik Lindholm; 2: Brendan Kelly; 3: Samuel Perozek; 4: Conor McGuckin; 5: Roy Bellows; 6: Lando Putnam-Bagley; 7: Luke Johnson; Stroke: Luke Desmaison; c: Darien Chiang

Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow: John Cleary; 2: Bryce Ahn; 3: Benji Richards; 4: Hugh McCabe; 5: Kelly McKaige; 6: Will Mitchell; 7: Thomas Pacinda; Stroke: Peter Gratwick; c: Micah Shimizu

Bates M3V8 lineup: Bow: Logan Schlichter; 2: Diego Davalos; 3: Jack Tierney; 4: Nicholas Hoerle; 5: George Udris; 6: Sam Williams; 7: Cooper Drazek; Stroke: Finian Guinney; c: Sara Maquera

Bates M4V8 lineup: Bow: Soren Davidson; 2: Louis Consigli; 3: Timmy Howe; 4: EJ Herrmann; 5: Oscar Green; 6: Alex Appleton; 7: Xavier Drouin; Stroke: Solomon Kayobotsi; c: Benji Cao

Bates MV4 lineup: Bow: Nate Oh; 2: Hayden Lee; 3: Alwin Ma; 4: Patrick Cohen; c: Hannah Daher

Bates M2V4 lineup: Bow: Randy Li; 2: Billy Pierce; 3: Robert Meier; 4: Aidan O'Brien; c: Finnegan Merrick