PENNSAUKEN, N.J.- The Franklin & Marshall women's rowing team earned a seventh-place finish at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (MARC) Championship on Saturday, with the women's Varsity 8+ taking first in the Petite Final. 

F&M competed in three categories including the first Varsity 8+, second Varsity 8+, and Novice 4+. 

F&M's first Varsity 8+ lineup featured, from bow to stern, Skyler Houghton, Ruth Donohue, Kate Smith, Savanna Maness, Nancy Nguyen, Audrey Zawoiski, Sarah Blum, Louise Truong, and Lauren Caltrider as coxswain. The crew were fourth in their heat with a time of 7:42.415 to earn a spot in the Petite Final. The crew won the Petite Final in 7:50.474 against Marietta.

The team's second Varsity 8+ crew included, from bow to stern, Yvette Wang, Araya Vastani, Zoey Zhao, Maya Beda, Amy Ni, Claire Axelrod, Elizabeth Ripperger, Hazel Abello, and Macy Bush as coxswain. The crew finished in fourth place in their heat with a time of 8:49.377. In the Grand Final, F&M claimed seventh place in a tight race against Washington College, improving their time of 8:47.089. 

F&M's Novice 4+ lineup featured, from bow to stern, Autumn Lingle, Ripperger, Elena Jenkins, Iman Hasnani, and Bush as coxswain. The crew faced Stockton in a straight final, taking second. 

"All season our women's program has been developing, learning, and getting faster through practice and competition, and today was no different," said Head Coach Bob Brady. "We are a young team and racing today shows that we're getting stronger and faster, but that there is also room for growth if we want to close the gap on our conference." 

The team totaled 22 points to claim seventh place in the regatta. It's the most points that the team has scored since totaling 48 points at the 2019 MARC Championship. 

In addition to racing, members of the women's program earned conference honors. This includes sophomore, Audrey Zawoiski, being selected to the All-Conference Second Team for the MARC. Kate Smith earned All-Freshman/Novice honors, while Zawoiski, Lauren Caltrider, Skyler Houghton, Nancy Nguyen, Amy Ni, and Louise Truong earned Academic All-Conference honors. 

The Diplomats conclude the spring at the Dad Vail Regatta on Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9. The program will be sending a women's varsity 8+ to compete in the DIII event.