BOSTON - Williams College's 1V and 2V crews raced on the Charles River in Boston against crews from WPI, Simmons and Connecticut College for the Donahue Cup.

 

The Ephs managed to keep calm in extremely challenging conditions and finish first in both of the races.

 

The Williams 1V eight opened the day of racing. Building off of a week of training in Buskirk, N.Y., the varsity crew was ready for another opportunity to race. The Ephs took the lead off the start and held their position all the way through the finish. Williams finished with a time of 8 minutes, 25.91 seconds, 12 seconds ahead of second-place WPI, with the rest of the field finishing farther behind these two crews.

 

Winds continued to increase as the morning went on, but the women's 2V followed the example of the 1V and stayed calm in spite of the rocky water. Although the Ephs were challenged by WPI off the start, the 2V took advantage of a crab caught by WPI to establish a commanding lead. The Ephs finished in a time of 8:39.80, more than thirty seconds ahead of the other crews.

 

Williams will take on Wesleyan next weekend in the Little Three Regatta.

 

MEN'S CREW

BOSTON, Mass. -- The Williams College men's crew first varsity shell finished second at the Donahue Cup on Saturday.

 

MIT won the race in 7 minutes, 4.9 seconds. The Ephs clocked a time of 7:07.8.

 

Williams' second varsity and first freshman boats rowed against Worcester Polytechnic's 2V and 3V shells, falling to WPI by a margin of 7:53.2 to 8:13.8.

 

Williams is scheduled to face Wesleyan next weekend in the Little Three Regatta.

 

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.—Following a tense, cagey first half, the No. 16 Williams women’s lacrosse team notched a season-high 10 second half goals en route to a 13-8 victory over Little Three rival Wesleyan (4-9, 0-8 NESCAC) on Saturday.

 

The Ephs (6-5, 3-5 NESCAC) snapped a three-game losing streak and took a critical step forward in the hunt for a NESCAC playoff spot. Thanks to tiebreaking scenarios, the Ephs will clinch a playoff berth with either a win in one of their final two conference games or a loss by Connecticut College, which faces No. 7 Bowdoin tomorrow afternoon.

 

Natalie Gill had a hat trick for Williams, which got eight saves from Margaret Draper.

 

Up next for the Ephs is their final non-conference game of the year, a Thursday afternoon bout against Western New England.

 

MEN'S LACROSSE

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- Nate Ryan scored four goals to lead the Wesleyan men's lacrosse team to a 9-8 win over Williams on Saturday.

 

Ryan scored three of his goals in the second half to help erase a 6-5 half-time lead for the Ephs (7-4, 4-4 NESCAC).

 

Tanner MacIvor and Riley Hoffman each scored twice for Williams, which got 13 saves from Dan Whittam.

 

Justin Schick made 10 saves for the Cardinals (8-5, 5-3).

 

Williams travels to Vassar on Wednesday.

 

BASEBALL

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Amherst’s explosive offense helped the Lord Jeffs sweep Williams, 11-4 and 18-3, in a NESCAC West Division doubleheader today at Williams’s Bobby Coombs Field.

 

The Jeffs improved to 12-6 (5-0 NESCAC West), while the Ephs fell to 6-11 (3-5 NESCAC West).

 

Game One pitted the Ephs’ Luke Rodino against the Lord Jeffs’ John Cook. The two starters traded scoreless frames through three, before the Jeffs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth and added six more in the fifth to go on to the win.

 

John Cook (3-0) worked six innings to notch the win, while the Ephs’ Luke Rodino (1-3) took the loss. Cook struck out 12 and surrendered just a walk and three hits. Rodino gave up eight hits in five innings, along with eight runs (one run).

 

The Ephs’ runs came in pairs, one each in the 5th and 7th. Phil McGovern crushed a two-out double to right center to put the Ephs on the board in the 5th. McGovern and Jack Cloud had the Ephs’ RBI in the 7th.

 

In Game Two, the teams traded first-inning runs, but Amherst pulled away by getting eight more off Williams starter Thomas Murphy (1-2) in his five innings of work. Lord Jeff starter Keenan Szulik (3-1) worked seven strong to collect the win. Mike Odenwaelder hit his NESCAC-leading fifth homer of the season.  Jack Roberts and Adam Dulsky drove in runs for the Ephs.

 

The two teams return to the Ephs’ diamond on Sunday to complete the three-game series at 1 p.m. The game is a makeup of one previously scheduled for Friday at Amherst.

 

MEN'S TENNIS

MIDDLETOWN, Con. — Attempting to rebound from its loss to Middlebury midweek, the Williams College men's tennis went into Saturday’s match against the Cardinals of Little-Three rival Wesleyan looking to have a more competitive mindset.

 

That goal paid dividends throughout the day, in both singles and doubles, as the Ephs managed to stay focused and win points when it mattered to claim a tightly contested 6-3 victory over the Cardinals.

 

Brian Grodecki helped earn two points for the Ephs. He got a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles and teamed with Brian Astrachan for a  9-8 (6) win at No. 3 doubles.

 

Williams travels to face Conn College on Sunday.