Women's Openweight Crew Places Third at Patriot League Championship; Varsity 8+ Wins Silver

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — Powered by a runner-up performance in the Varsity Eight Grand Final and a sprint to third place in the Second Varsity Eight Grand Final, the MIT women's openweight crew team captured third place in the overall team standings at the 2025 Patriot League Women's Rowing Championship on Friday on the Cooper River.

MIT finished in third place in the team standings for the second consecutive year and the third time overall, matching its best finish at the Patriot League Championships. MIT advanced all four of its boats to the Grand Finals, before also finishing fourth in the Varsity 4+ Grand Final and earning a podium finish in third place in the Second Varsity 4+ Grand Final. Boston University defended its Patriot League Championship, earning victories in the V8+, V4+, 2V4+ and finishing fourth in the 2V8+. Georgetown was the team runner-up, aided by a victory in the 2V8+.

THE BASICS:

Team Standings: 3rd of 9 (263.5 points)
V8+: 2nd
2V8+: 3rd
V4+: 4th
2V4+: 3rd

RACE BY RACE:

V8+: The final 500m sprint made all the difference in the second of two opening heats in the V8+, as MIT advanced to the Grand Final in 6:52.974, getting its bow ball across the line first with Colgate, Navy and the Engineers all finishing within a second of each other. In the Grand Final, MIT held second comfortably behind first place BU, finishing in 6:49.987 as the Terriers took the title in 6:42.587. Georgetown made a late push to finish third in 6:52.805.
2V8+: MIT moved comfortably into the Grand Final with a second place finish in 7:03.418 in its opening heat. The Engineers needed an extra effort in the final 500m in the Grand Final to secure a spot on the podium and they got it, pushing past BU in the second half of the race to finish in 7:00.843 and take third. MIT almost overtook Navy in second but Navy finished in 7:00.270 to secure second.
V4+: MIT finished third in the first opening heat, advancing to the Grand Final with a time of 8:00.345, less than a second behind second place Bucknell. BU and Navy set the pace in the Grand Final pulling away from Georgetown and MIT. Georgetown found distance through the middle of the course as MIT finished fourth in 8:10.109.
2V4+: MIT won its opening heat, only facing a challenge from second place Georgetown as the Engineers found a good rhythm early and moved down the course in 8:04.364. BU got out to a big lead early in the Grand Final to win in 7:57.821 but MIT and Navy were neck and neck down the course until Navy found a late advantage to take second in the final 500m, finishing in 8:21.443. MIT was third in 8:23.250, about two seats back.

BOATINGS:

V8+: C. Michelle Peng; 8. Kayla Robertson; 7. Porter Bowen; 6. Lana Ghamra; 5. Madeleine Laws; 4. Emma Hopkins; 3. Cara Schillinger; 2. Brooke Birdsall; 1. Elizabeth Jackson
2V8+: C. Kayla Liu; 8. Emily Warren; 7. Sofia Chastain; 6. Ella Gersack; 5. Darin Wilkowski; 4. Lucy Greenup; 3. Stephanie Hulme; 2. Julia Brodsky; 1. Emma Cox
V4+: C. Madeline Ryan; 4. Sophie Latz; 3. Isabelle Kim; 2. Tamsin Nottage; 1. Leena Jhamb
2V4+: C. Daphne Rodas; 4. Sarah Pan; 3. Kristen DiConza; 2. Norah Miller; 1. Parker Hurley

COMPLETE RESULTS:

Boston U – 289.5
Georgetown – 267
MIT – 263.5
Navy – 204
Bucknell – 193
Colgate - 131
Holy Cross – 127.5
Lehigh – 66.5
Loyola Maryland – 55.5

The championship is scored on a weighted scale, with 4.5 points for the winner of the Second Varsity Four Race, 45 points for the Varsity Four, 90 for the Second Varsity Eight and 180 points for the Varsity Eight. The school accumulating the most total points in the four races is crowned the Patriot League champion. If there is a tie for first place in the final point total, the higher-place finisher in the Varsity Eight race will be named the Patriot League champion.

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