BETHEL, Ohio – A year after setting a new standard at the NCAA Championships, the Wesleyan women's crew team proved they're here to stay as the Cardinals' varsity 8 boat landed a second-place finish in the national title race, landing Wesleyan a second consecutive national runner-up finish.
Prior to 2023, the Cardinals' best finish at the NCAA Championships was third-place back in 2016, as Wesleyan has since landed second-place two straight seasons on the highest stage. Combined with the 2nd varsity 8 finishing in fourth-place on Saturday, Wesleyan totaled 47 points in the points trophy standings, finishing behind Tufts in second place.
Wesleyan sat in second place for the entire race, holding off Trinity and Williams, two teams that both finished less than two seconds behind the Cardinals' final time of 6:54.334. A strong start saw Wesleyan nearly a second faster than the boats in third through sixth place, and every split thereafter held off the challengers including an impressive final 500m split of 1:42.668 to hold off a challenge from the Bantams and Ephs. Tufts won their first-ever national championship with a time of 6:51.162.
The 2V8 grand final saw the Cardinals take fourth place with a time of 7:06.961. Wesleyan made their move for a medal finish in the 1000m – 1500m segment, closing the gap to less than two-tenths of a second behind the third-place boat Trinity, but couldn't get past the Bantams who held off the Cardinal charge.
Several stalwarts in the program competed for the final time, as this group of seniors including
Shayna McCarthy '24,
Anna Merrifield '24,
Noa Pesner '24,
Shelagh Coombs '24,
Elise McCamant '24, and
Anne Horton '24, finished their careers leading the program to new heights.
Competing for the Cardinals on the day included:
Varsity 8 –
Ava Olson '25 (coxswain),
Alex Stanislaw '25,
Shayna McCarthy '24,
Cadence Cole '26,
Anna Merrifield '24,
Ruby Roberts '27,
Em Moran '26,
Nora Printy '26, and
Alex Kuo '26
2nd Varsity 8 –
Noa Pesner '24 (coxswain),
Shelagh Coombs '24,
Hailey Hutchison '27,
Elise McCamant '24,
Anne Horton '24,
Peyton Fern '25,
Greta Armbrust '25,
Sophie Braver '27, and
Julia Lissack '27
