The 2025 American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, attracted teams from seventy-eight schools around the country, including universities like Tulane and Purdue with larger teams and longer trainings seasons.
Bowdoin's top boats included women's varsity 8+, which won the bronze, and women's second varsity 8+, which won the gold and the national title for its division. Additionally, the women's novice 8+, with first-year rowers, came in third, winning the bronze. (The 8+ refers to a shell with eight rowers and a coxswain.)
The men's team also had a strong showing, placing fifth overall. The men's 4+ shell finished third in its race.
The women's team last won a national title in 2023. In 2024, they placed second. Head Coach Doug Welling said in the last four years, the team has been boosted by a phenomenal group of rowers who graduated this spring. Many learned the sport at Bowdoin.
“The senior rowers were remarkable for their competitive spirit and leadership,” he said. “They spread joy and speed on the water.”
He noted, too, that support from the community—and a brand new boathouse—has buoyed the team. “The generosity of those who have come together to support the boathouse project also brings a lot to the team,” Welling said. “It makes it bigger for the athletes than just racing for themselves when they see how many people are involved in making this team go.”
Another motivator this past season was the pending retirement of Ry Hills, who coached Bowdoin's team for eight years after a long career in the sport. The rowing team also named a boat in honor of rower Charlotte Billingsley, who would have graduated in 2024 but died in a car accident in 2022.
“That was another level of spirit, motivation, and legacy that brought a lot of speed to the team,” Welling reflected. He added that the team keeps the memory alive of both Billingsley and Henry Zietlow ’22, a rower who died in 2019, for younger generations of rowers.
At the ACRA National Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, this May, the women scored their second overall national championship. The men and women's team together placed fifth behind Purdue, Michigan, University of Virginia, and Orange Coast. Links to all race results.
Women's varsity 8+: third place
Coxswain Vaishali Miriyagalla, Jolie Ganzell, Fiona Bor, Annie Galbraith, Cassidy Dean, Abigail Steinwachs, Emma Mazlish, Divya Bhargava, and Sara Schrag
Women's second varsity 8+: first place
Coxswain Piper Wilson, Ruby Fyffe, Meadow Jennings, Elizabeth Gill, Ingrid Krishnan, Kendall Brainin, Abby Chriss, Ruby Pollack, Caroline Vauclain
Women's novice/frosh 8+: third place
Coxswain Shreya Atluri, Grace Tetreault, Beatrice French, Juliet McDermott, Addison Moore, Kyler Choi, Xan Vella, Isabel Sandoval, Julia Finke
Men's varsity 4+: third place
Coxswain Tatum Coffey, Beckett LaPrade, Milo Goodell, Oliver Brenner-Bates, Zephyr Gilmore
Women's varsity 4+: third place
Coxswain Analisa Delgado, Annike Hermans, Ciara Tran, Nora Rikansrud, Annika Bell
Men's varsity lightweight 4+: fifth place
Coxswain Nate Kodama, Tommy Reynolds, Nick Everin, Brendan Deppen, Will Tran
Men's novice/frosh 8+: third place in the C final
Coxswain Mason Kahn, Henry Burke, Finnian Sawin, Jamie Ingraham, Cormac Burke, Noah Kay, Will Lollis, Chris Bowers, Jack Luehrman
