Women’s Lightweight Shows Off Sculling Depth at Season-Opening Quinsigamond Snake Regatta

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The MIT women's lightweight rowing team claimed three of the top four spots in the Collegiate Double Scull and added a silver in the Collegiate 4s and a bronze in the Collegiate 8s to begin the 2026-27 season on Saturday at Quinsigamond Snake Regatta on Lake Quinsigamond. The conditions were calm and clear with a slight headwind and flat water.

"I was very excited to go 1-2-4 in the double to highlight our sculling depth this year," said head coach Amelia Patton following racing. "The headwind conditions were a challenge for the four and eight, but I thought we rowed well as a team."

COLLEGIATE 2x A - 1st of 10 (19:10.0) - GOLD

S. Avery Reischer-Craft
B. Jiwoo Oh

Reischer-Craft and Oh won the event by a 19.2 second margin over their teammates. It was the second year in-a-row that MIT won the Collegiate 2x at the Snake Regatta.

COLLEGIATE 2x B - 2nd of 10 (19:29.2) - SILVER

S. Elizabeth Paolella
B. Ava Thigpen

Thigpen medaled for the second consecutive season in the 2x, following her gold in 2025. MIT's 'B' entry was well ahead of third place Gordon (20:05.4).

COLLEGIATE 2x D - 4th of 10 (20:13.6)

S. Emily Knapp
B. Olivia Stinson

MIT showed off its team depth, taking fourth in the 2x in 20:13.6. The Engineers went from having two entries in last year's regatta to having three of the top four finishers this season.

COLLEGIATE 4+ A - 2nd of 12 (19:04.8) - SILVER

C. Olivia Nguyen
4. Yagmur Kavukcuoglu
3. Katherine Jankowski
2. Melisande Nabage
B. Audrey Birzell

Tech added another medal in the Collegiate 4s, improving on a bronze medal finish in 2025 to earn silver. Overall, MIT dominated the event, with the openweight and lightweight women from Cambridge owning four of the top five spots in the standings. The MIT lightweight four (19:04.8) only trailed the MIT openweight four (19:01.2).

COLLEGIATE 4+ B - 4th of 12 (19:13.6)

C. Lily Zhou
4. Chloe Ryder
3. Margaret Zhu
2. Audrey Lin
B. Nicole Li

MIT's second entry missed a spot on the podium by a .9 second margin. Iona captured third in 19:12.7, with MIT fourth in 19:13.6.

COLLEGIATE 8+ A - 3rd of 21 (16:19.5) - BRONZE

C. Katelyn Lee
8. Caroline Romano
7. Katherine Wei
6. Anna Chan
5. Anna Gluschuk
4. Lara Nguyen
3. Calder Shen
2. Masha Lekovic
B. Annabel Noonan

MIT's fourth medal of the day came in the Collegiate 8s with a bronze medal finish in 16:19.5. The Engineers finished 3.1 seconds behind second place Wellesley (16:16.4). The MIT openweight women (16:03.7) won the event for the third year in a row and the fourth time in five years.

COLLEGIATE 8+ B - 14th of 21 (18:14.9)

C. Anjalina Thomas
8. Kendall Jacobsmeyer
7. Cassia Colombara
6. Jenny Kim
5. Lisa Lin
4. Allison Park
3. Charlotte King
2. Sofia Weber
B. Mia Rozenberg

MIT added a 14th place finish in the event. The Engineers (18:14.9) trailed Connecticut College (18:09.1) in 13th and finished ahead of Wellesley (18:32.4) in 15th.

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