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No. 9 Syracuse was swept in Sunday’s regatta against No. 4 Rutgers and unranked Princeton. SU’s varsity 8 finished last place (6:41.8), behind first-place Rutgers (6:28.3) and second-place Princeton (6:32.0). SU’s varsity 4 (7:25.0) was narrowly edged out by Rutgers (7:23.4), with Princeton finishing second (7:24.2).

SU best’s placement came from its 2nd varsity 8, which finished second (6:42.2). SU’s 2nd varsity 4 and 3rd varsity 4 finished third and fifth, respectively.

The Orange entered this weekend’s regatta ranked No. 9 in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) rankings. SU ranked No. 8 the week prior, the program’s highest ranking. Syracuse also recorded back-to-back top-10 rankings for the first time, too. Since the polls began in 2002, SU’s previous best ranking was 12th in the mid-May poll in 2017.

Syracuse competed against Rutgers on April 4 in its first regatta of the season, which was also held at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey. SU won the varsity 4 event (7:16.3), edging out the Scarlet Knights (7:21.5) by just over five seconds. SU’s varsity 8 placed second (6:41.4) that day, and the Orange didn’t finish higher than second in the 2nd varsity 4, 2nd varsity 8 and 3rd varsity 8 events.

Syracuse last competed against Princeton in 2019, where the then-No. 7 Tigers won four of five events, only dropping the 3rd varsity 8 race. Sunday’s regatta was Princeton’s second of the year after it swept Drexel in all three events on April 24. The Tigers competed against Temple later on Sunday afternoon to close out their regular season. 

In other regattas this season, SU (6:43.01) retained the Orange Challenge Cup for the fourth consecutive season after defeating Northeastern’s 1st varsity 8 (7:05.9) by approximately 22 seconds in Saratoga Springs. The Orange also swept the Huskies in the remaining three events. At the Big Ten Invitational in Bethel, Ohio, SU’s varsity 4 finished first and defeated three top-20 crews, including Rutgers, Washington State and Indiana.

SU’s next regatta will be the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship from May 14-15 at Clemson. In this week’s CRCA poll, Syracuse was the second-highest ranked ACC school, six spots behind No. 3 Virginia. Syracuse could advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held from May 28-30, if they qualify or receive an at-large bid. 

Published on May 2, 2021 at 8:07 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini