Unity and pride has been the theme for the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing program under long-time head coach Peter Steenstra.

In the ultimate team sport, the Bobcats have displayed their unity and pride on the biggest stage, winning five national titles since 2015 at the NCAA Championship. Going into last month’s national regatta, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ second varsity eight boat had won eight straight gold medals.

“This program is unique in our mindset, and in who we are,” says Ollie Young ’23 of Burlington, Vt., the second varsity eight three seat. “Being proud of who we are is something our class had to learn, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the last four years.”

The unity the program displays is more than just maintaining a consistent stroke rate. All year, the rowers wore patches on their uniforms displaying the Progress Pride Flag, which celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and calls for a more inclusive society, a meaningful expression of support within the team, including for Young, who is a trans male athlete.

Supporting one’s teammate is engrained in the program. Young’s fellow senior in the 2V boat, coxswain Isabella Sobolewski of Washington, D.C., was feeling down after the boat’s disappointing first race at nationals, putting their gold medal streak in jeopardy. So he stepped up.

“I had a little bit of a moment where I was really disappointed and really crushed,” Sobolewski said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Listen, you have got this, we have got this, it’s you and me, it’s been four years, it’s going to be okay.'”

It was more than okay, as the second varsity eight rallied to maintain their gold-medal streak, and the Bobcats finished fourth as a team on the biggest stage of women’s rowing. And they did it, like they always have, with pride.

After a year where everything was so uncertain, everything came together in late May as the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College women’s rowing team won its .

It’s the 30th national championship won by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ individuals or teams. 

“Until I was sitting at the start line at that first heat, it was unreal that we were here,” team captain Saylor Strugar ’21 of Boulder, Colo., said. “And I honestly still can’t really believe it. But I’m just so happy to be here with my teammates.”

We traveled to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., to capture the joy of yet another national title, and the rewards of sticking together.

This year’s NCAAs were “nostalgic bookends,” said team captain Hannah Beams ’21 of Mattapoisett, Mass., recalling her first year when ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ also captured an NCAA championship — in the same location.

“I was just thinking today that this is my fourth race down this course and I just couldn’t be happier to be back here,” said Beams.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowers didn’t get a chance to compete at the 2020 NCAA Championships because there were no 2020 championships. In fact, there was no 2020 season whatsoever for women’s rowing. But a strong senior class, 10 of whom traveled to NCAAs, kept the Bobcats afloat.

“We just all held each other through it even in this past year,” Beams said. “It had a lot of moments where we weren’t sure if we were going to race again, let alone row or practice together.

“Just knowing that we were doing it alongside each other, together, was really just the biggest part of it all.”

This year’s senior class won a national championship every year they got a chance to, joining the Class of 2020 as the only classes to do so.

From 2009 to 2013, the Bobcat women finished second to Williams at NCAAs each year before ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ broke through with the program’s first national championship in 2015. The Bobcats have now won five of the last six NCAA titles, finishing second in 2016 to Wellesley. 

In capturing its third consecutive NCAA championship, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing team made it look easy, winning all four of their races by open water at Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis on May 31 and June 1.

“As soon as we’re ahead, I know that nothing can stop us,” says co-captain Sophie Claus ‘19 of Beverly, Mass.

Video by Aaron Morse

The victory is ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ fourth in the last five years. But perhaps more than anyone, Claus knows that getting to the top of the mountain isn’t easy.

Last spring, she missed out on the NCAAs with an injured back. Surgery followed in December, then rehabilitation. “It’s been a wild, wild ride,” she says. “To be here is such an enormous privilege.â€�

It’s also important that minor setbacks don’t spiral into big problems.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ rowers on the first varsity eight boat celebrate their grand final win over WPI on June 1 at the NCAA Rowing Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Claus is a member of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ second varsity boat. As the preliminary heat got underway on Day 1 of the championship, her foot stretcher — where she places her feet for leverage — suddenly broke.

She alerted coxswain Maya Seshan ’20, who stopped the race, which is allowed when equipment fails within the first 100 meters.

It turned out to be an easy fix, and the Bobcats maintained their composure despite the delay.

“Our team is built on flexibility,” says Seshan, of Wilton, Conn. “Coach [Peter Steenstra] really instills in us this idea that no matter what you’re doing, you’re ready to roll with the punches. If something changes, who cares?”

It’s hugs and congratulations after ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ wins the 2019 NCAA Division III Championship on June 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

On Day 2, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™s two grand final victories marked the sixth straight for the second varsity eight and the second straight for the first varsity eight.

Among the eight rowers and one cox in the first varsity boat, only one was a senior in 2019: Sophia Rintell of Brookline, Mass.

“I was having some nerves as everyone always does right before the race,” she recalls. “But there came a moment, right as we were waiting to line up to get in the start area, when I realized that I’m not nervous. I’m just excited.”

Both varsity boats won their grand finals without much drama, at least on the surface.

As Claus explains, “This piece of wood had gotten stuck to our skeg and we were like, we had added resistance for no reason!”

From left, Sophie Claus, Sophia Rintell, and Claudia Glickman were the 2019 co-captains for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing. (Brewster Burns for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

For ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, challenges like having a stick stuck to the bottom of their boat only make the Bobcats stronger.

The two varsity boats had four senior rowers — Claus, Rintell, fellow co-captain Claudia Glickman of Bellaire, Texas., and Phoebe Long of Riverside, Conn. “We feel like we did it. We got the job done,” says Rintell.

“It’s a good way to go out and leave, and feel really excited for all of the others who are going to go do this again.”

The women’s rowing team is seeking its third straight national title at this weekend’s NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, and it’s a veteran squad:  The only first-year in either varsity boat is Lily Kinder ’22 of Pike, N.H.

Not only is she new to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, she’s new to the sport.

“When I came to tour ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, I talked to one of the assistant coaches just out of fun to see if they allowed walk-ons,” Kinder said. “And they were like ‘Yeah, come on in, you’re welcome!’”

In fact, a key to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ rowing success is how the program embraces novices.

“We look for people who just come to us on their own and they’re interested in excelling at something, and trying something new,” NESCAC Coach of the Year Peter Steenstra said. “Once you realize that this sport is similar to stacking wood, it’s just a matter of repetition.”

Kinder embraced her opportunity, and her teammates love having her on the team.

Lily Kinder ’22 of Pike, N.H., is the sole first-year competing for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at this weekend’s NCAA Rowing Championships. (Brewster Burns for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

“A lot of practices, right when we finish, she’ll turn around and smile at me, or I’ll tap her back or give her a high five, and it just makes me smile, and makes me really happy,” said co-captain Claudia Glickman ’19 of Bellaire, Texas.

“And she’s always smiling, always in a good mood, so excited to be here.â€�

Glickman and another ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ co-captain, Sophie Claus ’19 of Beverly, Mass., were both rowing novices when they first stepped on campus in 2015.

“Rowing is amazing in that you can try it for the first time as a freshman in college, so I decided to give it a shot and found the team to be absolutely incredible and the most welcoming toward novices, which you don’t always find,” said Claus.

Good things happen in threes. So do great things, especially for Bobcat sports this past week. Take a look:

1. Women’s rowing captures Head of the Charles title

Guided by senior coxswain Hanna De Bruyn of Old Lyme, Conn., the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s varsity eight set a course record on Oct. 22 to win the women’s collegiate eights at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.

De Bruyn and her crew navigated the serpentine 4,800-meter course on the Charles River in 16:01.182, outpacing last year’s Head of the Charles winner Wesleyan by 16.863 seconds.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing captured the women’s collegiate eights at the Head of the Charles on Oct. 22. (Photograph by Daniel D’Ottavio)

2. Men’s soccer qualifies for NESCACs with amazing goal vs. Colby

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ men’s soccer team heads to the NESCAC championship tournament thanks to a miraculous goal scored in the final minute of the Bobcats’ regular-season finale at Colby on Wednesday afternoon.

Sophomore Beaufils Kimpolo-Pene of the Bronx, N.Y., knocked in the rebound of his initial saved shot with 24 seconds left in the second overtime period.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ plays at top-seeded Tufts Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the NESCAC quarterfinals.

3. Field hockey also beats Colby, in final seconds, to earn NESCAC bid

For the third straight year, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ field hockey team beat Colby in the final game of the season to earn a spot in the NESCAC tournament. Here’s what it looked like:

With the win, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ earns the eighth seed in the NESCAC tournament and visits top seed and No. 2 nationally ranked Middlebury on Saturday. The NESCAC quarterfinal match is set for 12:00 p.m.

For the 11th straight year, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women rowed in the NCAA Championships. For the second time in three years, they returned to campus as national champions.

We went behind the scenes at the championships, held May 26 and 27 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., to capture emotion and excitement from student athletes and fans alike.

Even after it was all over, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ seniors didn’t want to leave.

“This is my team. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye,” said Abbey Bierman ’17, coxswain of the second varsity eight boat.

The championship came thanks to gutsy performances by both ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ boats. “It was really the epitome of what I love about this sport,” Julia Mason ’17 said.

“This is setting the team up really well for the next four years,” Molly Pritz ’17 said. “I’ll be on shore, screaming my heart out.”

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing team defeated Williams by one point to win the 2017 NCAA Championship in dramatic fashion the morning of May 27 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.

Competing first at the regatta, the Bobcats’ second varsity eight won its race (their fourth consecutive gold medal), earning ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ 12 points. Williams’ boat finished third, and that would be critical.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ first varsity eight then took to the water. Though they would finish second to Williams (earning 27 points), ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ 39 points overall were enough for the championship, just one point better than Williams’ 38, the Ephs falling short because of their third place finish earlier in the 2V8 race.

Watch this clip of the team being introduced as national champions, plus comments from senior Molly Pritz:

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ 2V8 rowers watched nervously from the shore as the first varsity eight battled its way to second. Captain Abigail Bierman ’17, second varsity coxswain, describes the scene.

“We’re watching, we’re watching, and Wellesley puts up this fight in the last 500 meters that almost gets them,” she recalls. But ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ “put up an even bigger fight. My bow seat Alex Salazar turns around and is like ‘I can’t watch any more!'”

The race ends, and “we whip our heads around to the coaching staff, and ask, ‘Did we?’ and they nodded — We did!”

The weekly ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Bobcast features the national champs:

This marks the 11th consecutive year the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women have rowed in the NCAA Championships. They have finished first twice (2015 and 2017), second six times, third twice and fifth once.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s rowing team claimed the first NCAA team championship in college history on May 30, edging defending champion Trinity College by one point.

It was big news on both sides of the country. During the Baccalaureate Service back on campus, , right before he and his fellow Senior A Cappella singers performed Phillip Phillips’ “Gone, Gone, Gone.�

Check out the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Athletics website for and take a look at this slideshow featuring highlights of both days.

Day Two: No question about it. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ made a big splash at the 2015 NCAA Rowing Championships. (Mason D. Cox '07 for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Day Two: Emilie Muller '16 of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ varsity eight considers the team's accomplishment: winning the college's first NCAA team championship. (Mason D. Cox '07 for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Day Two: Formal ceremonies over, members of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ rowing team run into Lake Natoma to celebrate their NCAA Division III Rowing Championship in Gold River, Calif. (Mason D. Cox '07 for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Day Two: Kate Traquina '17 brandishes the NCAA Division III Rowing Championship trophy, flanked by Mallory Ward '15 (left) and Alison Simmons '16. (Mason D. Cox '07 for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Day Two: The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ team gives the traditional Bobcat growl. (Mason D. Cox '07 for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)