Syracuse Men’s Crew Cruises Through Exhibition against Cornell

By: Alex Remoll | @alexremoll

Citrus TV Men’s Rowing Beat Reporter

Liverpool, NY – The Syracuse men’s rowing team opened up the season with a 2,000m exhibition race against Colgate on Sunday. The third and fourth varsity eights faced off against Colgate’s top boat at the Ten Eyck boathouse in Liverpool. 

The Orange used their home-field advantage to take both first and second place in the scrimmage. The 3V8+ stood alone, with an impressive 6:01.7 time. The battle between the fourth eight and Colgate was much more interesting. The 4V8+ clocked a 6:09.4, with Colgate’s 6:10.9 coming in right behind.

That was not the only action of the day, though. Assistant Coach Jason Elefant said that, after getting a bit of rest, the crews went back out for some 1,000m scrimmage pieces.

“(It was) really good racing,” Elefant recalled. “All those were pretty much neck-and-neck between the boats… We really got a lot out of this scrimmage, and we were really happy about Colgate making the trip up to do that.”

Between the harsh 35-degree weather and the thrill of facing an in-state rival, this event was the perfect tune-up for SU’s lower crews. The first and second eights get their first bits of action at the California Duals on the ninth and tenth. Syracuse squares off against Oregon State, Washington, and Stanford in Redwood City this weekend.