SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Union College women's crew team opened a busy first weekend of May with the Liberty League Championships on Fish Creek Friday morning. 

The Garnet Chargers' Varsity 8+ crew, led by Senior Melina McGovern, placed seventh in the overall Liberty League championship standings with William Smith College earning its first conference title since 2016.

With McGovern as the coxswain, Union's Varsity 8+ boat of junior Amy Gagliardi (stroke), junior Emma Friedman (7 seat), first-year Jordan Long (6 seat), senior Nora Hillery (5 seat), senior Sadie White (4 seat), junior Olivia Werkema (3 seat), junior Sarah Hannan (2 seat), and first-year Avery Sommerville (bow) finished with a time of 7:43.884, winning the Petit Final on the 2,000-meter, seven-lane buoyed course.

Racing 90-minutes before Union's First Varsity 8+ boat, sophomore Lizzie Vandam guided first-year Patsy Whalen (stroke), first-year Adelaide Dieden (7 seat), first-year Mahi Mattu (6 seat), first-year Elsie Paxton (5 seat), junior Susanna Harrow (4 seat), junior Mariah Jackson (3 seat), first-year Sandhya Padmanabhan (2 seat), and first-year Ainsley Moore (bow) across the finish line in 8:29.204 for seventh place in the Second Varsity 8+ race. William Smith championed that event as well. 

The Garnet Chargers will be right back on the water Saturday, May 2 at 10 a.m. as they race in the Novak Memorial Metropolitan Championships, hosted by Iona University in New Rochelle, N.Y.