WORCESTER, Mass. -- Senior Katrina Holbrook won the NEWMAC Academic Laurel of Excellence and also captured All-NEWMAC honors along with senior Ava Rawlings, as Mount Holyoke College placed sixth among seven teams Saturday at the 2026 NEWMAC Rowing Championships, with three eights competing for the Lyons on Lake Quinsigamond.
No. 5 nationally ranked Wellesley captured the team title, winning the varsity eight race and placing second in the second varsity eight to secure the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Rowing Championship.
Wellesley totaled 43 points to edge Smith's 42 in the AQ standings, which are determined by the top two races. Coast Guard finished third with 35 points, followed by WPI (30), while Clark (23), Mount Holyoke (22) and Simmons (15) rounded out the team standings.
The Lyons also placed fifth out of seven teams in the standings for the Florence Jope Smith Cup, awarded annually to the team with the most overall points across all races. The Lyons scored 10 Smith Cup points, topping sixth-place Clark by two points. Smith, which won the other three races on the day, captured the cup with the highest point total from the overall championship results, with 38 points. Wellesley was second with 34 points, followed by Coast Guard (24), WPI (18), Mount Holyoke (10), Clark (8) and Simmons (2).
Rawlings (New York, N.Y.) received All-NEWMAC honors for the first time in their career.
Holbrook (St. Paul, Minn.) captured the NEWMAC's first Academic Laurel of Excellence honor awarded in rowing. The honor is bestowed upon the student-athlete competing in a NEWMAC Championship with the highest cumulative grade point average. A double major in biological sciences and data science, Holbrook maintains a 4.00 GPA and will graduate in just three years' time in May.
In the 1V8 race, Mount Holyoke, coxed by junior Tobin Mayo-Kiely (Anchorage, Alaska), took sixth place out of seven boats in 7:22.09, just 1.1 seconds behind fifth-place Clark and over a minute ahead of seventh-place Simmons. Mount Holyoke's 2V8, coxed by sophomore Adee Cooper (Dunbarton, N.H.), placed fifth out of six boats, outpacing Clark by 15.92 seconds and 24.09 seconds behind fourth-place WPI.
The Lyons' 3V8 boat, coxed by senior Sarah Plotkin (Duxbury, Mass.), placed fifth among five boats in 8:36.22.
Mount Holyoke competes at the New England Rowing Championships next Saturday, May 3, out of Regatta Point in Worcester, Mass.
Mount Holyoke Lineups:
1V8
Cox: Tobin Mayo-Kiely; 8: Sylvan Garland; 7: Katrina Holbrook; 6: Elsa Kulatunga; 5: Ava Rawlings; 4: Josie Capps; 3: Nora Priede von Herber; 2: Leyla Guven; Bow: Giselle Spalding.
2V8
Cox: Adee Cooper; 8: Delfina Incani; 7: Gwyn Munroe; 6: Jordan Cutler; 5: Jet Davis; 4: Clay Halpern; 3: Holly Wrampelmeier; 2: Tegan Peers; Bow: Emmy McCormack.
3V8
Cox: Sarah Plotkin; 8: Maire Kettner; 7: Toby Hawes; 6: Elannah Brennan; 5: Paquita Karega; 4: Elaine Pytel; 3: Zarina Karim; 2: Lina Gougil: Bow: Ruby Rippetoe-Crawford
