Wesleyan’s men’s and women’s crew teams had been making strides throughout the season. The Cardinal men’s first eight-man varsity boat was undefeated in its first three races of the spring, defeating traditional rivals Bates, Middlebury, and Tufts en route to a 6-0 record. While the women rowers have not attained the same level of success as the men thus far, neither squad was prepared for what Williams had in store for Wesleyan in Worcester, Mass. on Saturday. The Ephs rowers handily dispatched the Cardinals, definitively proving that top-ranked Williams was the best team on the water.

Men’s crew had found success in Worcester earlier this season, with the first race on Lake Quinsigamond resulting in wins over the University of Massachusetts, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Middlebury by the first varsity boat. However, last Saturday was not as providential for the Cardinals. Despite Wesleyan fielding the exact same lineup in the first boat that raced the 2000-meter course earlier this year, Williams was simply a markedly faster team on the day, posting a finish of 6:19.5 to defeat the Cardinals’ 6:31.5 time. One bright spot for the Cardinal men was their second place finish over Ithaca in the first varsity race, but Williams also topped Wesleyan in a race of second varsity boats, while Ithaca took the win in the novice eight-man boat sprint. The Wesleyan women did not have any more luck against the Ephs, falling in the first-boat varsity race by 40 seconds and in the second-boat by 15.2 seconds.

The men’s and women’s crew teams will look to bounce back next Saturday against Trinity College in the last spring sprint of the year before the New England Championships on April 30.