The William Smith rowing team will return to the national stage May 29-30 when it competes at the 2026 NCAA Division III Rowing Championships at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia. The Herons will be making their 14th appearance at the NCAA Championships and their first since 2016.
William Smith, ranked sixth in the latest CRCA/Pocock Coaches Poll, earned an automatic bid to the championship after winning the Liberty League title earlier this month. The Herons are one of eight teams sending both a varsity eight and second varsity eight to compete for the national championship.
Top-ranked Bates, fifth-ranked Wellesley and 14th-ranked Catholic also secured automatic bids, while Williams, Tufts, Trinity and Puget Sound earned at-large selections.
William Smith’s varsity eight crew of Lizzy Whitney, Linnea Darius, Kate Abdalla, Raya Schwartz, Alessandra Gialanella, Aubrey Ryan, Eden Grim, Leah Wiebe and Meghan Bartholomay has put together a strong spring season. The boat earned four Liberty League Boat of the Week honors, captured a gold medal at the Liberty League Championships and a bronze medal at the New York State Championships. The Herons also swept head-to-head races against Liberty League rivals Ithaca and RIT.
At Sunday’s National Invitational Rowing Championships, William Smith finished sixth in a field that included all but two of the boats that qualified for the NCAA Championships.
The Herons’ second varsity eight of Michaela Greco, Olivia Helms, Lily Liflander, Alessandra Gialanella, Paige Barnhart, Ainsley Kimball, Mariee Voss, Alayna Wian and Olivia Sainsbury also enjoyed a successful spring campaign. The 2V8 earned Liberty League Boat of the Week honors twice, won gold at the Liberty League Championships and claimed silver at the state championships. Like the varsity eight, the 2V8 also placed sixth at the NIRCs.
Tufts enters the championship as the two-time defending national champion.
