It was all set up for the Syracuse men’s and women’s rowing teams. Before their races, the Orange honored 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Goodale, who graduated from SU in 2005, and dedicated a new shell to the 1978 IRA champions.
It was all set up for the Syracuse men’s and women’s rowing teams. Before their races, the Orange honored 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Goodale, who graduated from SU in 2005, and dedicated a new shell to the 1978 IRA champions.
Only one problem: The men failed to win their races.
The men’s team lost the Varsity Eight race Saturday to Cornell and failed to win the Goes Trophy. The Big Red finished with a time of 6:03.1, about four seconds better than Syracuse’s 6:07.0. Navy finished third with 6:14.1.
It was the first time the men’s team lost a cup race since it was defeated by Dartmouth on May 8, 2005. The loss to Cornell snapped the Orange’s near-three-year undefeated streak in cup races.
The young Varsity Eight boat of No. 10 Syracuse, which is comprised of five sophomores, two juniors and two seniors, was matched up with tough competition in No. 9 Cornell and No. 13 Navy.
‘We do not see it is a thing of youth,’ sophomore Kenny Marfilius said. ‘When we are out on the water rowing, we never look at ourselves as being five sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. We prefer to look at ourselves as being one unit.
‘I do not believe the inexperience had anything to do with (losing the race),’ he added. ‘The ability to go out and race during our cup season allows us to see what we need to work on and ultimately work towards. We still have the same goal of getting the top seed at the Eastern Sprints and the IRA.’
Despite finishing second in the Varsity Eight race, the men still had a shot at the Stagg Trophy, which is awarded to the team that finishes the regatta with the most overall points. However, the Big Red was not to be denied and swept the awards in a showcase weekend for Syracuse rowing.
The women did not fare much better than the men, finishing third out of three in their Varsity Eight race. They were defeated by No. 15 Harvard and No. 21 Dartmouth. The Orange posted a time of 7:09.5, while the Crimson won the race in 6:48.6. The Big Green finished second with a time of 6:55.4.
The men’s team finished the regatta with one first-place finish, three second-place finishes, and one third-place finish, while the women completed the day with two first, second, and third-place finishes in their races.
The No. 24 women, newcomers to the Top 25, kicked off their day by suffering a third-place setback. The Orange entered Saturday’s regatta confident and motivated after being named the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges Coaches and Big East Crews of the Week for their performance last weekend. The SU Varsity Eght won the Orange Cup for the first time since 2005 following its three-second victory against Northeastern and Pennsylvania.
The women’s freshman eight continued to perform well, defeating Dartmouth by 4.1 seconds. The Big Green edged the Crimson by less than one second to finish behind the Orange.
With Saturday’s regatta in the books, the Orange will gear up for the Big East Championship in Camden, N.J., Sunday.
As for the men’s squad, it does not race until Saturday, when it takes on Boston University and Columbia for the Conlan Cup – its final race before the Eastern Sprints on May 10. The Varsity Eight squad will do its best to wash out the sour taste of this weekend’s disappointing finish.
‘I have no doubts about anyone on this team, I don’t care how long or how little they have been rowing for,’ senior Martin Etem said. ‘We back each other up out there, so there are no worries here. When the time comes, we will perform on race day no matter who we are racing, or where we are racing.’
Published on April 19, 2009 at 12:00 pm
