Cheering Conundrum



What do you do when one of your daughters is the SU coach and another is coaching UConn? Not a problem until they race EACH OTHER. Then, you just gotta improvise. Kudos to Coach Bill Sanford for finding the middle ground.

Big East Photos

...some images from this morning's heats in Worcester, MA.

Along with all the great parents, it was fun to catch up with Skip Sibley and his lovely wife as well as SU Senior Associate Director of Athletics Rob Edson.

Thanks to everyone for coming out today.









ND Dominates Big East; SU V8 Finishes Third

The Orange women came to Worcester hoping to make some noise at the Big East Championships and the Varsity Eight gave it an especially strong effort. But it was favored Notre Dame that dominated the event on Lake Quinsigamond. The Fighting Irish won all three NCAA qualifying events, the Varsity Eight, 2V8 and Varsity Fours as well as the Novice Eights and Second Varsity 4s.

Click here for full results courtesy row2k.com

SU Varsity Eight Takes Bronze in Grand Final.

The Orange Women stayed in it to the finish this time, battling with top-seed Louisville down the stretch and just missing the silver medal. Notre Dame moved away from the Cardinals in the last 500 to win by about a length, as Syracuse stayed in contact with UL, finishing just about a length back.

2V8 Edged Out – Finishes Fourth

Louisville squeaked by SU’s Second Varsity Eight at the wire to take third in the grand final. Notre Dame opened it up in the last 500 to win by open water over Georgetown. Syracuse was in third down the stretch but the Cardinals got by in the sprint – a race too close to call until the official result was announced.


V4+ Finishes Fourth

Syracuse’s Varsity 4 won its morning heat but struggled in the Grand Final, winding up fourth even with a strong last 500. Notre Dame won it easily with Georgetown second and West Virginia third. The Orange fell back in the middle of the race, but then stepped it up, getting past UConn and Villanova and moving up toward the finish. Still the SU crew was not able to get into the medals.

Novices trail in Grand Final

The Orange eight finished sixth in the Novice race. Notre Dame and UConn battled down the course, with the Fighting Irish opening it up in the last 500 meters and the Huskies taking second. Georgetown was third.

2V4 Takes Bronze

The Orange Second Varsity Four finished third behind Notre Dame and Georgetown.


The Orange Women race next on Saturday at the Windermere Cup/Opening Day races at Washington.

Five SU Boats in Grand Finals at Big East

SU’s Varsity,Second Varsity and Novice eights and Varsity Four have advanced to the grand finals at the Big East Championships. On a morning that started out looking ideal for rowing, according to SARA President Tracy Smith, rain and wind showed up before long at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.

SU’s Varsity Eight advanced with a second place finish in this morning’s qualifying heat. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame won the heat. Top-seeded Louisville won the opening heat with Georgetown second.

Click here for results from Big East.

The final is scheduled for 12:40 p.m.

2V8 , V4 qualify.

Syracuse took second, just about a length behind Louisville in its second varsity heat, qualifying for the grand final. Notre Dame won the first heat with Georgetown second.

The 2V8 final is at 12:20.

The Varsity four won its heat easily over West Virginia and Louisville to move forward. Notre Dame won its heat with Georgetown second and Villa nova third.

The Varsity four final is at noon.


Novice Eight trails but qualifies

With UConn rowing away early, Syracuse and Georgetown battled bow-to-bow for more than half the race but the Hoyas opened it up and left the Orange behind in the qualifier for novice eights. SU’s time of 8:07.5 was just fast enough to qualify for the last spot the final.

SU’s Second Varsity four had no qualifier and races in the final against Notre Dame, UConn, West Virginia and Georgetown at 11:40.

LIVE AUDIO

Click here for Big East Rowing site - live audio available.

Men's V8, JV8, 3V4+ Win in New York

Syracuse’s Men’s Varsity Eight moved out to an early lead, opened more than a length in the third 500 meters and then held off a tremendous sprint by Columbia to beat the Lions and the Boston University Terriers in Pelham, N.Y. this morning. SU went off the line at 47 strokes a minute, took a couple of seats on BU on the settle and gradually expended its lead. BU made a push at about the halfway point but the Orange responded, pushing out to a length on BU and open water on Columbia with about 800 meters left. Columbia and BU battled it out behind the Orange, with the Lions walking through in the last 200 meters and getting back into contact with the Orange as SU crossed the finish line. SU kept most of a length lead.
Click here for results from row2k.com.

Syracuse wins the Conlan cup by virtue of its victory over BU.

SU came into the race ranked eigth in the EARC poll (10 US Rowing Collegiate Poll) with BU 9th (11 US Rowing Collegiate) and Columbia 10th (13 US Rowing Collegiate).


The SU Varsity Heads West for the Opening Day Regatta next Saturday, May 1 at Washington. #1 Washington beat #2 Cal Saturday by about a length.


JV wins Convincingly

The Orange JV8 picked up its first win of the season in its first competition, pushing out to a two-seat lead over BU and Columbia just past 500 meters in and then building on it to win by open water over BU. The Terriers made a move on the Orange as they neared 500 meters to go, but SU responded and won going away. Syracuse rowed the body of the race at about 35 strokes per minute and was clocked at 40 in the closing sprint.

BU’s JV came into the race ranked sixth in the EARC poll, with SU eighth and Columbia 13th.
The JV race against Cornell and Navy last week was stopped about 500 meters in with all boats taking on water.


Frosh Eight Trails

Coach Dave Weiss’ freshmen eight finally got a chance to race, after being washed out by winds and waves at Annapolis last week. The Orange frosh fell back about half a length relatively early, as BU and Columbia fought for the lead. BU finally opened the gap against Columbia with about 500 meters to go and won by about a length. SU closed on the Lions in the sprint but couldn’t get by them. BU won it by about two seats open water over Columbia with and SU six seats behind.

BU’s frosh came into the race ranked third in the EARC poll and Columbia was 7th. SU ranked 11th.

3V4 wins

The third varsity four won the opening race of the day over BU by a length of open water.

SYRACUSE WOMEN AT BIG EAST ON SUNDAY


Coach Kris Sanford's squad heads for Worcester this weekend to try to make some noise at the Big East Championships. The Big East's recent rowing powers Notre Dame and Louisville come into Sunday's races with the highest ranking in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing poll. The fighting Irish are just two votes out of the Top Twenty and the Cardinals two spots behind them.SU picked up one vote in the latest poll.

UL got the top Big East seed over ND for Sunday morning's heats. That means SU (the #3 seed) takes on Notre Dame along with UConn and Villanova in the morning qualifier. Syracuse will also launch a 2V8, V4 and a Novice 8. There have been some changes in the lineups over the past couple of weeks after the races in Ithaca and Boston.


On the subject of polls, SU is ranked tenth in the latest EAWRC poll that will determine the heats for the Eastern Sprints May 16 in Camden. Princeton is at number one.
Polls courtesy of row2k.com
Boatings courtesy of suathletics.com
Photo courtesy of museum4kids.net

Broadcast for Mens' Race on Saturday 4/24/10

For all you SU Men's Rowing fans, here's how to access the broadcast for this Saturday's racing.

Remember to set those alarm clocks as the figurative gun goes off for the first race at 7:20. That's 4:20 for you, Tom Evancie and Bill Bater...

click here for the webcast address -


To listen to broadcasts over the phone, dial (605) 715-4900 and enter passcode 4396868 (followed by the # key) at the prompt. When asked to record your name for the "conference," simply press the # key again to bypass the recording and immediately enter the broadcast.

Thanks to our hosts, the Columbia Lions, for putting on the 'cast, and to Joe Kieffer, SARA Man in charge of doing all things, for providing the technical info and support.

Orange Men Slip to Tenth in Coaches Poll

"Bang. Bang." Say it as fast as you can. Not fast enough. There wasn't that much time between Cornell's Big Red crossing the finish line and SU's V8 last Saturday in nearly impossible conditions in Annapolis. But that four-tenths of a second (officially) loss along with other results around the Northeast cost the Orange Men five spots in the US Rowing Collegiate poll out today. Not surprisingly, Cornell vaulted to sixth with the win. As SU Coach Dave Reischman pointed out afterward, all crews in the Goes Cup Race rowed in the same conditions.
Princeton moved up a spot to fifth and Northeastern, Yale and Wisconsin also slipped ahead of the Orange who now sit in tenth. That's just one spot ahead of Boston University and three ahead of Columbia, both of whom the Orange faces this Saturday in New York. Just in case the SU squad needs a chip on the shoulder.

Poll courtesy of row2k.com

Orange Women V8 Third in Boston - V4B Wins

Another tough outing for the Orangewomen this morning, this time in Boston as the SU varsity eight trailed #16 Dartmouth and Radcliffe in the featured event on the Charles River. The Big Green won the varsity eight easily over Radcliffe with Syracuse about a length-and-a-half behind. Radcliffe was just outside the Top Twenty in last week's Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing poll.

The Orange Varsity Four B boat had the best finish of the day by an SU crew, edging out Radcliffe by three-tenths of a second. And the 2V8 outrowed Dartmouth by less than half a second for second place in its race. Radcliffe won that one by several lengths.

SU trailed in both the Varsity 4 A and the 3V8 races.

Results courtesy of row2k.com

Photo Finish: Big Red Keeps Goes Cup

As if we needed another reminder that crew is not for the faint of heart - even if you're listening from hundreds of miles away - Cornell held off the SU Varsity eight by a split second early this morning to win the Goes Cup for the second year in a row. The official time posted said it was less than half a second and Navy Associate Head Coach Rob Friedrich said in that posting it was even closer. Navy trailed a couple of lengths behind.

Friedrich described the conditions in Annapolis as marginal. In fact they were so bad that the referee canceled the JV race about 500 meters in with crews taking on water and the freshmen never got to race.

The Orange came into the race ranked fifth in the US Rowing Collegiate Poll with Cornell at #10.
No doubt there will be a change next week but the Orange and Big Red will see each other again at the Eastern Sprints and Head Coach Dave Reischman has said all along that the team shoots for the Sprints and the IRA.

Just a week or so ago, Reischman said in an email to SU Crew supporters, "It is going to be an interesting Sprints this year with 8 or 9 crews in the hunt for medals." There was more proof of that today.

In addition to Cornell's edging of #5 Syracuse, #3 Brown had to row a record time to beat #8 Northeastern by just over a second. #9 Boston University edged #14 Dartmouth by less than a second. #7 Yale outrowed #12 Columbia by about half a length in Philadelphia with Penn trailing. And #6 Princeton was in contact with #4 Harvard more than halfway through when the Tigers lost their rudder mechanism. The Princeton bow hit the Crimson stern and broke off, forcing the Tigers to stop rowing, according to a post on row2k.com by MIT's Coach Tony Kilbridge. MIT was well back in the race and finished second.

The Orange travels to the New York City area next to take on Columbia and BU on Saturday.

Results courtesy of row2k.com

The Latest from Annapolis

From Coach David Reischman:

No official word on spectating for tomorrow's races. They are still negotiating to allow spectators access over private property. If you are viewing the races you should show up at the boathouse at 6 am and they will hand out directions for viewing.

Goes Cup Update

From Coach David Reischman:

If you are planning on attending the racing in Annapolis this weekend you need to know that there was a drastic change in the weather forecast this afternoon. The wind will be out of the WNW and quite strong. This may necessitate a course change from the course originally announced. This will affect anyone trying to view the racing and the previous directions I sent you will not work. It is unknown at this time what arrangements there will be for spectators watching the racing.

The plan is to make a decision on the course by Friday evening. I will try to get an email out Friday night that will have any course change/spectator viewing information I can get. If you hear nothing from me your best bet is to show up at the Naval Academy about 45' before the racing and the Navy staff said they would try to have information on race viewing available.

Stay tuned for additional details....

SU Men Hold Five Spot in US Rowing Poll

The top five remain the same for the third straight week in the USRowing/Collegiate Poll with the Orange Varsity still at number five. The Washington Huskies held onto number one with 13 first place votes. They won easily over Washington State and Oregon State last weekend. Cal is second with three first-places votes. Brown and Harvard are at three and four. Brown Edged Harvard by a second last Saturday in Providence.

The Orange is back in action this weekend for the first time since the San Diego Crew Classic, taking on #10 Cornell and #16 Navy for the Goes Trophy at Annapolis. Cornell swept Georgetown and George Washington last weekend at the George Washington Invitational.
Navy defeated MIT and UC San Diego in its competition at the George Washington Invitational. The Big Red and Middies did not face each other.

Polls, Washington and Brown/Harvard results courtesy of row2k.com.

Goes Cup Information

The SU Men will travel to Annapolis to take on Navy and Cornell for the Goes Cup Trophy. Logistics for this race are a bit tricky. Here's the word from Coach Dave Reischman:

If you have never been to race at the Naval Academy you need to be aware that there are security measures in place for entering the Naval Academy grounds. YOU MUST SHOW A PHOTO ID.

In addition, this year Navy is remodeling their boathouse and they have changed the race course due to the opening day of the rockfish season. We are going to use what they call the “Upper Course.” This course is considered by visiting coaches to be the fairest option available but it makes it more difficult on spectators.

The race schedule for this Saturday, April 17, is as follows:

6:45 am Varsity

7:00 am Junior Varsity

7:15 am Freshman

You will need two sets of directions: One to the Naval Academy where we will be launching from and one to view the racing. The spectator viewing is on a private estate by the finishing line. EVERYONE NEEDS TO RESPECT THAT THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY. Be careful with your parking, be quiet, and pick up trash.

Directions for viewing are attached along with a map of the race course, and a parking map for the Naval Academy Grounds. (please click on the images below to enlarge)

Listed below are recommended directions from the Naval Academy Coaching Staff to enter the Academy grounds.

Alumni/Parent’s Directions to Naval Academy

As you approach Baltimore, take 695 or 895 to Route 97 South towards Annapolis.
Take 97 South all the way to Route 50 East towards Annapolis.
Once you get onto Route 50, you are within 10 minutes of campus.
Take Exit 24 for Rowe Blvd and stay to the right on exit ramp.
After passing Navy Stadium on right, you will make a left turn on Taylor Avenue.
At stop sign, you will make a right onto Route 450 (Annapolis St.)
At your second traffic light, turn right into the Naval Academy and another immediate right into a parking lot near the practice baseball field. You can park there and walk down the hill and show a photo ID at the gate. From there continue down the road and make a left into the field where the jet airplanes are on display.




SU Women Racing in Boston This Weekend

The SU Women travel to Boston this Saturday (April 17) to take on Radcliffe and Dartmouth for the O'Leary Cup. Race times for Saturday morning are below.

9:48 - 1V
10:12 - 2V
10:36 - V4A
11:00 - 3V
11:24 - V4B

Spectators can watch the last 750 meters from the finish line which is located slightly downstream from the BU Boathouse and directly across the street from the Hyatt Hotel on Memorial Drive (Cambridge).

Northeastern wins in Philly; SU V8 Third

A tough Saturday morning in Philadelphia for the SU Women. The Northeastern Huskies took the Varsity eight race and with it the Orange Challenge Cup, with Penn rowing through Syracuse in the last 500 meters to take second place.

SU’s Third Varsity Eight was second in its race, holding off Northeastern down the stretch in a race Penn won by open water.


The Quakers won the 2V and Varsity 4-A and Northeastern was first in the V4-B.
SU trailed in all three races.

Penn’s on-line announcer described it as a beautiful but blustery day on the Schuylkill River with a quartering tail wind. That changed later to a head wind.

Northeastern took the early lead in the Varsity Eight race with SU staying in contact through the halfway point and holding a bow-to-stern lead on Penn.

But as the Huskies moved to an open water lead with about 650 meters left, Penn began moving on Syracuse. The Quakers pulled even and then moved through the Orange and crossed the finish line about half a length ahead.

Times here courtesy of row2k.com.

Syracuse races next Saturday (April 17) in Boston – the Charles River Challenge/O’Leary Cup with Dartmouth and Radcliffe the opponents.