PITTSBURGH — St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s rowing opened its fall season with a win and a 1-2 finish in the lightweight single sculls at the Head of the Ohio on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Abigail Rowe won the women’s collegiate/open lightweight single in 18 minutes, 20.420 seconds, and teammate Olivia Barr finished right behind her in second at 18:29.356, according to SMCM Athletics. Fewer than nine seconds separated the two Seahawks over the head-race course.
St. Mary’s also put two boats in the top six of the women’s collegiate/open double sculls. Vita Orifici’s double placed third in 17:40.436, the fastest St. Mary’s time of the day, and Gabriella Zimlich-Vazquez’s double finished sixth in 18:52.730.
In the women’s collegiate/open single, Claire Thompson placed 10th in 18:26.285 and Lucia Raboteau 12th in 18:48.941.
| Event | Rower(s) | Place | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightweight single | Abigail Rowe | 1st | 18:20.420 |
| Lightweight single | Olivia Barr | 2nd | 18:29.356 |
| Double | Vita Orifici and partner | 3rd | 17:40.436 |
| Double | Gabriella Zimlich-Vazquez and partner | 6th | 18:52.730 |
| Single | Claire Thompson | 10th | 18:26.285 |
| Single | Lucia Raboteau | 12th | 18:48.941 |
Building on a historic spring
Fall head races are the warm-up for the spring sprint season, when the stakes are highest. The program has climbed in recent years: in May 2025 the Seahawks’ first varsity eight reached the grand final at the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time, and the team finished seventh nationally. The program made its first NCAA appearance in 2022, when it placed eighth.
The fall schedule continues with three more head races this month: the Head of the Charles in Boston on Oct. 18, the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia on Oct. 24, and the Head of the Occoquan in Fairfax Station, Va., on Oct. 31.
