Williams, Bates & Trinity Headline Honorees

HADLEY, Mass. – The New England Small College Athletic Conference announced today the 2012 edition of the Men's and Women's Rowing All-Conference Teams. The 10-member squads are comprised of individuals from the eight league teams based on each team's finish at the NESCAC championships, which are held in conjunction with the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championship.

The Williams men's rowing squad placed four individuals on the all-senior All-NESCAC First Team, with Matt Crimp (Anchorage, Alaska), coxswain Michelle McRae (Eugene, Ore.), Noah Schoenholtz (Bethesda, Md.), and Alexander Treco (Boston, Mass.) all receiving recognition. Treco garnered First Team honors for the second time in the last three years. The only holdover from last year's top team was Trinity's Vincent McLaughlin (Cherry Hill, Pa.), as he claimed First Team accolades for the second time in his career.

On the women's side, the Bates tandem of seniors Allison DiSalvo (Lowell, Mass.) and Haley Sive (Glenville, N.Y.) repeated on the First Team, with Sive taking home her third consecutive All-Conference First Team award. Senior teammate Elizabeth Sonshine (Short Hills, N.J.) received a promotion from last year's second team to round out the Bobcats' three selections.

Bates' Peter Steenstra swept the conference's coaching honors. Steenstra, now in his fourth season at the helm of the Bobcats' rowing programs, was honored as the women's Co-Coach of the Year last spring. Bates finished as the runner-up to Williams in both the men's and the women's grand final last Friday.

Six-time defending national champion Williams will be in pursuit of its eighth overall NCAA women's rowing title at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. on May 25-27. Along with the Ephs at Lake Mercer will be Bates and Trinity. During the 2011 national championship, Williams edged out Bates for the team title by three points. The Ephs also won the individual title by finishing first in the grand final.