At UMass on Sunday, March 6, the varsity eight race featured three of the top five ranked crews in Division III: No. 1 Williams, No. 3 William Smith, and No. 5 Wellesley. The host Minutewomen won the race in 6:02.24, but the intriguing race was for second. By the midpoint of the 2,000-meter course, the Herons and Blue had pulled ahead of the defending national champion Ephs. Wellesley outsprinted William Smith to take second in 6:05.49, 1.33 seconds ahead of the Herons. Williams was fourth in 6:08.63, 1.81 seconds behind William Smith. The New Hampshire was a distant fifth. The Heron varsity eight was powered by Susan Tuvell, Katie Paige, Sinead Reilly, Lauren Blake-Whitney, Caroline DeWeirdt, Alyssa Trebilcock, Libby Hughes, Eliza Orrick, and Emma Dow.