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Arleny Flores
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Women’s crew traveled to Cambridge, Mass., on Sunday to compete in the 61st annual Head of the Charles regatta. The 4+ boasted the Ephs’ strongest performance of the day, earning the program’s first-ever medal in the event. The 1v and 2v also finished in the top half of their event, qualifying all three boats for next year’s regatta, which will mark their third consecutive joint appearance.
The Head of the Charles is the largest three-day regatta in the world, bringing together international competitors ranging from novice high school rowers to Olympic veterans.
For Vivian Johnson ’27, co-captain and seventh-seat in the 1v, the alum presence is part of what makes the Head of the Charles special. “Seeing so many alumni come to cheer us on at the Charles reminded me that this event is more about their legacy and love for the team than any one boat,” she wrote to the Record. “The Charles is like a huge family reunion, and I’m excited to see it from that perspective next year.”
To kick off the afternoon, the 4+ finished in 18:52.769, beating 33 other boats to take third overall. That time also placed the Ephs first out of six NESCAC boats and second among all Div. III boats racing in the collegiate fours.
Lindsay Gadsden ’27, stroke seat in the 4+, highlighted the boat’s cohesion as a key component of its third-place finish. “I think the thing that contributed most to the boat’s success this past weekend is that everyone in the boat really trusted each other and knew that we were all pulling for the same goal,” she wrote to the Record. “We have been rowing together for the past three weeks in this lineup, so we had a lot of time to gel in the boat and create a strong boat identity.”
The result was a continuation of the team’s improvement in the event the year before. In 2025, the 4+ placed sixth out of 40 boats in the collegiate fours with a time of 19:33.674. This marked the Ephs’ best finish in the event since earning fifth in 2016, the first time they had ever raced that event.
Later in the afternoon, the 1v and 2v boats raced in the collegiate eights, finishing eighth and 13th out of 29 boats, with times of 17:00.350 and 17:26.428, respectively. Seven of the top eight boats in the collegiate eights represented the NESCAC.
Leading up to the event, the Ephs had less time to prepare than usual. Co-captain and third-seat in the 1v Sophia Clavenna ’27 told the Record that the Ephs maintained the same standards for their performance, despite their atypical schedule. “Because classes started so late this year, we had significantly shorter lead-up time to this weekend’s race than normal,” she wrote. “So we jumped into competitive training as quickly as possible. We try to treat each race as another day of practice, so leading up to this regatta we focused on keeping the same rhythm and expectations.”
According to Clavenna, requalifying each boat for the next Head of the Charles was the Ephs’ main priority. “We came into this weekend with the outcome goal of requalifying all three of our boats for next year,” she wrote. “It’s great that we performed at such a high level across all [29 boats in the collegiate eights] and as a whole team.”
The 1v and 2v both finished faster than at last year’s Head of the Charles, where they recorded times of 17:04.527 and 18:37.921, placing second and 28th out of 37 boats, respectively.
Favorable conditions on the course may have helped the Ephs improve their speed. According to Jordan Bose ’29, seventh-seat in the 2v, the weather conditions on Sunday were markedly different from recent years at the regatta. “In general, the Charles can be kinda unpredictable,” she wrote to the Record. “But it was not super windy, which was a very nice change from previous years. That meant the water was pretty flat and conditions were more constant throughout the entire race course, which was … a pleasant surprise.”
As the Head of the Charles marked the Ephs’ final competitive race of the fall season, Clavenna outlined the team’s primary areas of focus for their upcoming spring season. “To me, a successful season means that we push each other to be faster and field incredibly competitive boats in as many events as possible,” she wrote. “This starts with our walk-ons and freshmen who push the rest of the varsity team.”
“Results aside, we talk a lot about what it means to ‘be the best team,’ which includes leading with our values of trust, love, and excellence on and off the water,” she added. “We hope to represent Williams well on campus, in academics, and to our competitors, as the other NESCAC rowers are very hardworking and friendly!”
As the Ephs shift their focus to the spring, Clavenna also emphasized the team’s clear vision for practice and commitment to improving their rowing. “We are always working on continuing to match our stroke across all rowers and boats,” she wrote. “Coach Paula [Thoms] has spent the past four years developing a distinct, Williams stroke, and through the rest of the season and into the winter we all want to commit to this development.”
Editor’s Note: Tahlia Gerger, Amita Khurana, and Hadley Levenson, members of the Record editorial board and the women’s crew team, were not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
The Head of the Charles is the largest three-day regatta in the world, bringing together international competitors ranging from novice high school rowers to Olympic veterans.
For Vivian Johnson ’27, co-captain and seventh-seat in the 1v, the alum presence is part of what makes the Head of the Charles special. “Seeing so many alumni come to cheer us on at the Charles reminded me that this event is more about their legacy and love for the team than any one boat,” she wrote to the Record. “The Charles is like a huge family reunion, and I’m excited to see it from that perspective next year.”
To kick off the afternoon, the 4+ finished in 18:52.769, beating 33 other boats to take third overall. That time also placed the Ephs first out of six NESCAC boats and second among all Div. III boats racing in the collegiate fours.
Lindsay Gadsden ’27, stroke seat in the 4+, highlighted the boat’s cohesion as a key component of its third-place finish. “I think the thing that contributed most to the boat’s success this past weekend is that everyone in the boat really trusted each other and knew that we were all pulling for the same goal,” she wrote to the Record. “We have been rowing together for the past three weeks in this lineup, so we had a lot of time to gel in the boat and create a strong boat identity.”
The result was a continuation of the team’s improvement in the event the year before. In 2025, the 4+ placed sixth out of 40 boats in the collegiate fours with a time of 19:33.674. This marked the Ephs’ best finish in the event since earning fifth in 2016, the first time they had ever raced that event.
Later in the afternoon, the 1v and 2v boats raced in the collegiate eights, finishing eighth and 13th out of 29 boats, with times of 17:00.350 and 17:26.428, respectively. Seven of the top eight boats in the collegiate eights represented the NESCAC.
Leading up to the event, the Ephs had less time to prepare than usual. Co-captain and third-seat in the 1v Sophia Clavenna ’27 told the Record that the Ephs maintained the same standards for their performance, despite their atypical schedule. “Because classes started so late this year, we had significantly shorter lead-up time to this weekend’s race than normal,” she wrote. “So we jumped into competitive training as quickly as possible. We try to treat each race as another day of practice, so leading up to this regatta we focused on keeping the same rhythm and expectations.”
According to Clavenna, requalifying each boat for the next Head of the Charles was the Ephs’ main priority. “We came into this weekend with the outcome goal of requalifying all three of our boats for next year,” she wrote. “It’s great that we performed at such a high level across all [29 boats in the collegiate eights] and as a whole team.”
The 1v and 2v both finished faster than at last year’s Head of the Charles, where they recorded times of 17:04.527 and 18:37.921, placing second and 28th out of 37 boats, respectively.
Favorable conditions on the course may have helped the Ephs improve their speed. According to Jordan Bose ’29, seventh-seat in the 2v, the weather conditions on Sunday were markedly different from recent years at the regatta. “In general, the Charles can be kinda unpredictable,” she wrote to the Record. “But it was not super windy, which was a very nice change from previous years. That meant the water was pretty flat and conditions were more constant throughout the entire race course, which was … a pleasant surprise.”
As the Head of the Charles marked the Ephs’ final competitive race of the fall season, Clavenna outlined the team’s primary areas of focus for their upcoming spring season. “To me, a successful season means that we push each other to be faster and field incredibly competitive boats in as many events as possible,” she wrote. “This starts with our walk-ons and freshmen who push the rest of the varsity team.”
“Results aside, we talk a lot about what it means to ‘be the best team,’ which includes leading with our values of trust, love, and excellence on and off the water,” she added. “We hope to represent Williams well on campus, in academics, and to our competitors, as the other NESCAC rowers are very hardworking and friendly!”
As the Ephs shift their focus to the spring, Clavenna also emphasized the team’s clear vision for practice and commitment to improving their rowing. “We are always working on continuing to match our stroke across all rowers and boats,” she wrote. “Coach Paula [Thoms] has spent the past four years developing a distinct, Williams stroke, and through the rest of the season and into the winter we all want to commit to this development.”
Editor’s Note: Tahlia Gerger, Amita Khurana, and Hadley Levenson, members of the Record editorial board and the women’s crew team, were not involved in the writing or editing of this article.