Syracuse women’s rowing wins 7 races at B1G/ACC/Ivy Dual to open season
Syracuse built off its historic 2024 season, where it won its first ACC championship, by winning seven of 11 races to open its season Saturday. Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer
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Syracuse women’s rowing had one of its best seasons in program history in 2024. That included its first-ever outright Atlantic Coast Conference title and an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championship. But with a new season starting Saturday, it was yet to be seen if SU would build off the campaign.
In its first meet of the season Saturday, No. 10 Syracuse dominated at the B1G/ACC/Ivy Dual in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The Orange participated in 11 races throughout a packed day and finished first in seven.
SU shined brightest in its afternoon head-to-head events against No. 14 Ohio State. The Orange’s first varsity 8 edged the Buckeyes by four seconds in 6:27.8. Their first varsity 4 (7:15.1) also battled to the wire and topped Ohio State by 3.8 seconds.
The Orange’s most dominant victory over the Buckeyes in an afternoon when wind speeds reached nearly 17 miles per hour came from their second varsity 8. SU’s 6:28.6 finish came with nearly eight seconds to spare. Freshmen rowers Ella McKinley, the one-seat, and Clothilde Marcelot, the seven-seat, made their Syracuse debuts in the best boat of the day. McKinley and Marcelot were among seven first-year athletes who made their first appearances for SU Saturday.
Syracuse’s second varsity 4 also took first against OSU’s second and third squads. SU’s fourth varsity 8 reigned victorious (7:21.4) as well, but its third varsity 8 took the lone loss of the afternoon. The 3V8 clocked in at 6:55.4, but it wasn’t enough to outpace the Buckeyes’ 6:51.1 finish.
SU also faced No. 9 Michigan, the reigning Big Ten champions, and No. 11 Penn Saturday morning. It was all about Syracuse’s second teams in the early races. The second varsity 4’s 7:30.9 result was over nine seconds faster than the second-place Quakers. The second varsity 8, which was coxed by senior April Serrano, triumphed at 6:37.0 and beat last-place Penn by more than 10 seconds.
The morning was not all sunshine and rainbows for the Orange, even though the wind chill was less intense. They still dropped three events in the early session. SU’s varsity 4 fought until the end with a 7:25.74 time but was outplayed by Michigan by fewer than three seconds.
The varsity 4 race was the Wolverines’ sole win of the morning. Syracuse (6:27.88) went neck and neck with Michigan (6:27.17) and Penn (6:25.9) until the very end. The Orange also deployed their third (6:58.86) and fourth varsity 8 (7:07.53) boats, which both lost to the Quakers’ third varsity 8 (6:57.8).
Syracuse proved it’s just as strong as it was last season on Saturday. But it’ll face another test when it faces familiar foes in two weeks at the Cayuga Cup against No. 6 Yale and Cornell. The three schools met at Fish Creek in 2023 and 2024, and the Bulldogs were dominant both times. But with the Orange’s newfound success, they’re primed to challenge Yale this time.
