Ithaca topped Smith to earn its first Division III Women's Rowing Championships team title May 28-29 at the CSUS Aquatic Center in Sacramento, California.

The Bombers, who improved on last year's third-place finish, became the third different crew to win the title in the brief three-year history of the championships. Williams took the crown in 2002 and Colby captured the team competition last year.

Ithaca posted seven points to earn the title, the lowest point total in the championships' history. In Division III competition, the crew with the lowest number of points wins. Smith collected 10 points to finish second, its best finish in the championships. Before this year, the Pioneers' highest finish was sixth in 2002. Williams rounded out the top three teams in the team competition.

Becky Robinson, head coach at Ithaca, said her team began talking about winning the championship last year.

"We started talking about this in September, and an incredible amount of work was put into this championship. Amazingly, these were the same lineups we started with at the beginning of the season," Robinson said.

In the Eights final, Ithaca, the only crew to place two boats in the race, turned in a winning time of 7:00.8. Smith I, Williams I, Puget Sound I, Coast Guard I and Ithaca II rounded out the field.

Trinity (Connecticut) earned a victory in the Eights petite final with a time of 7:16.4. Smith II crossed the finish line in second, with Puget Sound II, Williams II, Trinity II and Coast Guard II following, respectively.

1. Ithaca, 7; 2. Smith, 10; 3. Williams, 13; 4. Puget Sound, 13; 5. Coast Guard, 17; 6. Trinity (Conn.), 18.

Eights: Petite final --1. Trinity (Conn.) [Emily McLean, Danielle Markel, Hadley Wilmerding, Sarah Carter, Elizabeth Gvernsey, Carolyn Walker, Emily Dorward, Nathalie Toomey, Kathleen Milnamow (coxswain)], 7:16.4; 2. Smith, 7:19.9; 3. Puget Sound, 7:26.5; 4. Williams, 7:27.9; 5. Trinity (Conn.), 7:30.1; 6. Coast Guard, 7:35.1.

Eights: Final -- 1. Ithaca [Catie Gloo, Leslie Nichols, Heather Luke, Stacey Bowen, Stephanie Knabe, Meghan Musnicki, Jessica Selock, Nora Lahr, Jill Moler (coxswain)], 7:00.8; 2. Smith, 7:00.9; 3. Williams, 7:02.3; 4. Puget Sound, 7:03.4; 5. Coast Guard, 7:05.4; 6. Ithaca II, 7:07.1.