How It Happened
Rhode Island won its fifth Atlantic 10 Championship in program history in a tightly contested battle with Massachusetts Sunday in Fairfax Station, Va. With the title, the Rams clinched their second NCAA Championship appearance in program history.

In addition to the team title, head coach Shelagh Donohoe was named the A-10 Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career. Donohoe will lead her team to the NCAA Championship, which is being held in Gold River, Calif. at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center May 27-29.

It was a two-team battle all day, as Rhode Island and UMass had the top two boats in each of the three scoring races. Rhode Island shot to the top of the team standings early when it won the Varsity 8+ Grand final. The team of Alissa Margraf (cox), Lily Herberger, Dana Holland, Marisa Landry, Alicia Kelley, Emmy Corace, Kiana Anderson, Katie Shattuck and Leah McGlynn got the Rams off to a huge start by edging Massachusetts by a couple seats. With a time of 7:37.300, Rhody came in just 2.04 seconds ahead of the Minutewomen. Both schools were 11 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

The Rams set the tone by posting the fastest time during the preliminary round, finishing in 7:05.1, 2.8 seconds faster than Massachusetts. Rhody's top boat is 16-0 over its last five regattas.

Massachusetts responded by winning the Second Varsity 8+ race. The battled unfolded in similar fashion to the Varsity 8 race, as UMass and Rhody found themselves well ahead of the field. UMass finished in a time of 8:07.100, just beating Rhody's team of Carly Amurao (cox), Courtney Harrington, Emily Engott, Sydney Beck, Mekenzie Mattheson, Shannon McIsaac, Laura Kilbane, Meghan Ellis and Kelsey Maymon, which posted a time of 8:09.640.

The overall team title came down to the Varsity 4+ race. By placing second in the Varsity 4+ race, Rhode Island clinched its first A-10 title since 2013. Rhody's boat of Avery Cohen (cox), Danielle Wolf, Sage Iacovazzi, Allie Reilly and Erika Pena finished 1.7 seconds ahead of Saint Joseph's to finish second in the flight. Massachusetts won the flight in 8:27.600, while the Rams posted a time of 8:41.160. Saint Joseph's had a time of 8:42.890.

Rhode Island's Third Varsity 8+ boat got the winning started by taking the flight championship. The lineup of Lucy Moyes (cox), Lauren Smith, Aoife O'Keeffe, Eva Baker, Chandler Fisher, Hannah Boris, Amber Abderrazzaq, Delaney Haggerty and Summer Johnson won the race in a time of 7:33.8, beating Saint Joseph's by more than nine seconds.

Team Standings
Rhode Island - 51*
Massachusetts - 51
Fordham - 37
Duquesne - 35
Saint Joseph's - 30
George Washington - 30
Dayton - 16
George Mason - 14
La Salle - 3
* Rhode Island wins the championship based on beating Massachusetts in the Varsity 8+ race 

Results
Grand Finals
Varsity 8+
Rhode Island – 7:37.300
Massachusetts – 7:39.340
Duquesne – 7:50.300
Fordham – 7:55.930
Saint Joseph's – 8:09.180
George Washington – 8:10.670

Second Varsity 8+
Massachusetts – 8:07.100
Rhode Island – 8:09.640
Fordham – 8:22.760
George Washington – 8:31.720
Duquesne – 8:31.900
Saint Joseph's – 8:56.290

Varsity 4+
Massachusetts – 8:27.600
Rhode Island – 8:41.160
Saint Joseph's – 8:42.890
George Washington – 8:50.520
Fordham – 9:03.970
Duquesne – 9:20.200

Third Varsity 8+
Rhode Island – 7:33.800
Saint Joseph's – 7:43.020
George Washington – 7:48.400
Duquesne – 8:05.920
Fordham – 8:16.480
Dayton – 8:40.850

Rhode Island Lineups
VARSITY 8+
Record: 21-5
Cox                Alissa Margraf 
Stroke            Lily Herberger
7 Seat            Dana Holland
6 Seat            Marisa Landry
5 Seat            Alicia Kelley
4 Seat            Emmy Corace
3 Seat            Kiana Anderson
2 Seat            Katie Shattuck
Bow               Leah McGlynn

SECOND VARSITY 8+
Record: 17-8
Cox                Carly Amurao
Stroke            Courtney Harrington
7 Seat            Emily Engott
6 Seat            Sydney Beck
5 Seat            Mekenzie Mattheson
4 Seat            Shannon McIsaac
3 Seat            Laura Kilbane
2 Seat            Meghan Ellis
Bow               Kelsey Maymon

VARSITY 4+
Record: 16-8
Cox                Avery Cohen
Stroke            Danielle Wolf
3 Seat            Sage Iacovazzi
2 Seat            Allie Reilly
Bow               Erika Pena

THIRD VARSITY 8+
Record: 9-4
Cox                Lucy Moyes
Stroke            Lauren Smith
7 Seat            Aoife O'Keeffe
6 Seat            Eva Baker
5 Seat            Chandler Fisher
4 Seat            Hannah Boris
3 Seat            Amber Abderrazzaq
2 Seat            Delaney Haggerty
Bow               Summer Johnson