Since Smith College opened its doors in 1875, 38 years after Mount Holyoke College, the schools have been each other’s biggest rivals when it comes to sports. No matter what sport, the Mount Holyoke vs. Smith games always receive large, and sometimes rowdy, crowds. When it comes to rowing, a sport where one can loose by a millisecond, the competition can become very fierce.
“Want to and do,” says rower Robyn Kranzler ’11 about winning against Smith.
This past Saturday Mount Holyoke’s rowing team took on Smith Crew. Racing conditions were windy causing Worcester’s Lake Quinsigamond to be extremely choppy, yet Mount Holyoke was determined. “I’d rather eat a box of raisins than loose to Smith,” joked rower Clare Enright ’13. Holyoke’s varsity boats both pulled away with a win over Smith, though were defeated by Division I’s Holy Cross and the winner of the 2008 NCAA Division III rowing championships, Trinity College. The competition on the water may be strong, but on land is a different story.
In the fall Megan Roark ’12 worked hard to try and help the two teams bond. Roark, Holyoke’s rowing Social Chair, communicated with Smith Captain Maria-Fatima Santos ’10 to put together an ice cream social. The two teams met in Holyoke’s North Rockefeller Hall for an afternoon filled with board games and dessert. “We are competitive against each other but we also can be friends off the water so it’s a healthy rivalry. We always love it when we beat Smith,” says rower Stephanie Swafford ’11. All declared the event a success and the two teams are currently in discussion about when to meet up again.
Next weekend will be the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference rowing championships and once again the two women’s college’s will continue their everlasting rivalry.
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