SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.- The Franklin & Marshall women's rowing team opened the spring 2026 season competing at the 2026 Skidmore Sprints regatta, which hosted some of the top teams in the country for DIII rowing.
F&M faced opponents from Skidmore, Williams, Wellesley, and fellow MARC program Bryn Mawr.
The first Varsity 8+ crew featured, from bow to stern,
Ruth Donohue,
Savanna Maness,
Kate Smith,
Nancy Nguyen,
Sarah Blum,
Louise Truong,
Skyler Houghton,
Audrey Zawoiski, and
Lauren Caltrider as the coxswain. The Diplomats finished the event in 7:39.8 competing against crews from all other competing schools, and finishing just behind Bryn Mawr.
"This was an incredibly fast race, but our women were able to be in it against Bryn Mawr, finishing behind them by less than 2.5 seconds," said Head Coach
Bob Brady. "They worked hard and as a young crew, they have a high ceiling to work towards for the rest of the season."
F&M's second Varsity 8+, which raced in the Third Varsity 8+ event since the crew was comprised of novices, included, from bow to stern,
Brigitte Chen,
Araya Vastani,
Yvette Wang,
Zoey Zhao,
Maya Beda,
Claire Axelrod,
Amy Ni,
Hazel Abello, and
Manal Fatima as coxswain. Against Williams and Wellesley, F&M earned third place with a time of 9:03.1.
Franklin & Marshall also raced a Freshmen/Novice 4+ against other Varsity 4+ crews, and the line up included
Elizabeth Ripperger,
Autumn Lingle,
Iman Hasnani,
Elena Jenkins, and
Macy Bush as coxswain. The Diplomats competed against crews from Wellesley, Skidmore and Bryn Mawr, and took fourth place.
"For our second 8+ and freshmen/novice 4+, this was the first race of their rowing careers for most of them, and they handled themselves well against very strong and very fast competition," said Head Coach
Bob Brady. "They are learning and developing everyday and we're looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish through the rest of the spring season."
The Diplomats are back in action for the Knecht Cup from Camden, N.J. next Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12.
