Women’s Openweight Crew Takes Fourth at Patriot League Championship; Varsity Eight Wins Bronze

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. -- The MIT women's openweight crew varsity eight earned bronze in the varsity eight grand final to lead MIT to a fourth-place finish in the team standings at the 2026 Patriot League Championship on Friday on the Cooper River. MIT has now finished on the podium in the varsity eight at the Patriot League Championship in each of the last four years.

The Engineers earned 190 points in the team standings. Boston University (319.5 points) won every event to claim its third consecutive Patriot League title and its fourth in the last five years. BU was followed by runner-up Bucknell (242), third-place Navy (209) and fourth-place MIT in the team standings. Georgetown claimed fifth place with 183.5 points, while Holy Cross (6th, 57.5), Colgate (7th, 151.5), Lehigh (8th, 108) and Loyola Maryland (9th, 36) rounded out the standings. The Terriers earned the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Rowing Championships.

VARSITY 8 (V8+):

Results:
- Opening Heat: 2nd of 5 (06:46.930) - Advanced to Grand Final
- Grand Final: 3rd of 6 (06:30.845) - BRONZE
Lineup: C. Michelle Peng; 8. Kayla Robertson; 7. Lucy Greenup; 6. Emma Hopkins; 5. Brooke Birdsall; 4. Shriya Thakur; 3. Madeleine Laws; 2. Darin Wilkowski; 1. Elizabeth Jackson
MIT (06:46.930) only trailed BU (06:39.697) in its opening heat, finishing in the top three to advance to the Grand Final. A strong start in the Grand Final put the Engineers in second before the crew fell off the pace set by BU and Bucknell in the middle of the course. MIT locked into a battle for fourth with Colgate before gaining seats and eventual separation from Colgate before the final 500m. MIT then used the final sprint to catch Navy and win the bronze medal, passing the Midshipmen over the final 500m to claim a third-place finish. BU was first (06:26.042) followed by runner-up Bucknell (06:28.018), third-place MIT (06:30.845) and fourth-place Navy (06:31.560).

SECOND VARSITY 8 (2V8+):

Results:
- Opening Heat: 4th of 4 (07:02.901) - Advanced to Petite Final
- Petite Final: 1st of 3 (06:55.916) - 7th Overall
Lineup: C. Kayla Liu; 8. Lana Ghamra; 7. Sofia Chastain; 6. Kristen DiConza; 5. Emma Cox; 4. Ainsley Buice; 3. Elizabeth Wright; 2. Lia Donley; 1. Angela Dong
A slow start set the Engineers back in the opening heat as MIT did not secure a spot in the Grand Final. MIT returned in the afternoon and earned an open water victory in the petite final against Colgate (07:03.149) and Loyola (07:15.816).

VARSITY 4 (V4+):

Results:
- Opening Heat: 2nd of 4 (07:47.146) - Advanced to Grand Final
- Grand Final: 6th of 6 (07:46.367)
Lineup: C. Madeline Ryan; 4. Lucia Ayala; 3. Nina Navabi; 2. Zoe Awa; 1. Ava Illingworth
The varsity four put in a strong performance during the morning heat, only trailing BU (07:37.502) to advance to the Grand Final in 07:47.146. MIT fell behind early in the Grand Final and took sixth in 07:46.367. Lehigh was fifth in 07:43.287 while BU earned an open water victory over the field in 07:16.549.