Women's rowing lands six on All-NESCAC squad; Steenstra repeats as Coach of the Year

Lewiston, ME (05/30/2019) — May 15, 2019

HADLEY, Mass. -- After capturing their fifth NESCAC championship in the past six years, the Bates women's rowing team had six team members receive All-NESCAC recognition from the New England Small College Athletic Conference on Wednesday, while head coach Peter Steenstra again won NESCAC Coach of the Year honors.

Sophomore Elizabeth Folsom (San Mateo, Calif.) was named First Team coxswain for the second straight year. She was joined on the First Team by junior Hannah Fitts (Pawtucket, R.I.), senior Lena Rintell (Brookline, Mass.) and junior Emma Wheeler (Paradis, Norway).

Rintell won her third consecutive All-NESCAC award, moving up from being a Second Team selection in both 2018 and 2017. Fitts was also a repeat selection, also moving up from 2018 Second Team All-NESCAC status.

Sophomores Hannah Beams (Mattpoisett, Mass.) and Sally Harris Porter (Washington, D.C.) were named Second Team All-NESCAC, joining Wheeler in receving the first all-conference awards of their careers.

The 10-member squads are comprised of individuals from the league's eight teams and based on each team's finish at the NESCAC championships, which were held in conjunction with the National Invitational Rowing Championship last Sunday in Worcester, Mass. Bates, Wesleyan and Hamilton were the only three teams who advanced to the First Varsity Eight Grand Final at the regatta, and Bates won the race by open water over runner-up Wellesley. The win signified another year of Bates automatically qualifying for the NCAA Division III Women's Rowing Championships, taking place May 31 and June 1 in Indianapolis. Both Wesleyan and Hamilton received at-large invitations.

Steenstra was selected as the 2019 NESCAC Men's & Women's Rowing Coach of the Year by his peers after guiding both squads to a sweep of the NESCAC Championships for the third consecutive year. The women's team won its fifth NESCAC Championship in six years and the men's squad captured its fourth championship overall. Steenstra, who won both Coach of the Year honors the past two seasons, earns the Women's Coach of the Year honor for the seventh time and the Men's Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 11-year tenure at Bates.

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