Steenstra and 19 Bates rowing student-athletes earn NIRC honors

Lewiston, ME (06/24/2019) — Steenstra and 19 Bates rowing student-athletes earn NIRC honors

Jun 18, 2019

Head coach Peter Steenstra (top) and 19 Bates student-athletes were honored by the National Invitational Rowing Championships on June 17, 2019. (File photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos)

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Bates College rowing coach Peter Steenstra was named NIRC Women's Coach of the Year and 19 members of the Bobcat varsity men's and women's teams won NIRC All-Academic honors on Monday from the National Invitational Rowing Championships.

For a student-athlete to be recognized to the NIRC All-Academic Team they must have completed one full year at their institution (freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible), maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.35 and be recognized as a varsity letter winner.

From the national champion Bates women's team, the following student-athletes were honored: Hannah Beams '21 (Mattapoisett, Mass.), captain Sophie Claus '19 (Beverly, Mass.), Elizabeth Fischer '21 (Chicago, Ill.), Hannah Fitts '20 (Pawtucket, R.I.), coxswain Elizabeth Folsom '21 (San Mateo, Calif.), captain Claudia Glickman '19 (Bellaire, Texas), Sally Harris Porter '21 (Washington, D.C.), Phoebe Long '19 (Riverside, Conn.), Grace Murnaghan '20 (Lexington, Mass.), captain Lena Rintell (Brookline, Mass.), coxswain Maya Seshan '20 (Wilton, Conn.), Saylor Strugar '21 (Boulder, Colo.), Emma Wheeler '20 (Paradis, Norway) and Emma York '21 (Santa Barbara, Calif.).

Men's team members earning NIRC All-Academic honors included coxswain Holland Doyle '20 (Milton, Mass.), Trevor Fry '19 (Groton, Mass.), Constantine Gregoire '19 (Sandy Hook, Conn.), Eric Jordan '19 (Stratham, N.H.) and Maxwell Milavetz '20 (Salt Lake City, Utah).

Steenstra won the Women's Coach of the Year nod after guiding Bates to gold medals in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and open four at the regatta. Additionally, the Bobcats' third varsity eight earned silver. Further, the first-place finishes by the varsity and second varsity eight marked the third straight gold medal performances by those boats at the championship. Most importantly, the WV8's gold medal at NIRCs earned the Bates women their third consecutive New England Small College Athletic Conference championship and automatic qualification for their 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA Women's Rowing Championship. At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, the Bobcats went on to win their third straight NCAA Championship and their fourth in the last five years.