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No. 11 Syracuse’s reign as Atlantic Coast Conference champions ended Saturday at the hands of No. 1 Stanford — this season’s winner. The Orange entered the weekend with the opportunity to be the second program in conference history to win back-to-back titles, after victory in 2024.

SU was primed to make history Saturday at Lake Hartwell in Clemson, South Carolina, after its five boats advanced to the first heat for each final contest following strong performances at the preliminary contests Friday.

Syracuse finished first in two races Friday — the 2V8 and 1V4. While its second varsity 8 raced in the second heat, avoiding the Cardinal and No. 13 Virginia, it (6:30.026) still placed ahead of the second-place No. 9 California (6:33.399). The 2V8 won ACC Crew of the Week after the B1G/ACC/Ivy Dual and has sustained strong performances throughout the season, as displayed Friday.

The Orange were unable to defeat the Golden Bears in any of their four head-to-head battles at the Redwood Shores Challenge in April but finally got over the hump in South Carolina. Syracuse’s 1V4 (7:05.751) took down Cal (7:09.514) for the second time, in addition to four other competitors, including No. 24 North Carolina (7:12.957).

The Orange were placed in the same heat as the Golden Bears in all five contests Friday, often competing tightly. SU’s 1V8 (6:20.879), though, could barely close the gap with California (6:18.966). Its third varsity eight’s distance was even narrower. It clocked in at 6:43.716, nearly a second shy of Cal (6:42.526).

While the other four boats finished in the top two and kept things close, Syracuse’s second varsity 4 was its lowlight Friday. It finished in 7:33.650, which beat out No. 22 Clemson (7:40.673). However, SU finished in third place by a wide margin behind Cal (7:19.830) and UVA (7:26.263). Still, third place was enough to secure one of the six spots for Saturday’s final. It joined Stanford and California as the only programs to qualify for all five finals.

After being mixed in with top competition like Stanford, the Orange didn’t muster their best day at the lake Saturday. What remained constant, though, was their 1V4 dominance, which finished at 6:59.184, ahead of four ranked programs — Cal (7:03.130), UNC (7:03.690), No. 18 Duke (7:05.934) and Clemson (7:18.074). Still, their performance wasn’t enough to take down the Cardinal (6:53.204), repeating their performance from the Redwood Shores Challenge.

Syracuse’s 2V8 followed its victory from Friday with a third-place finish (6:21.327). This time, it couldn’t contest Virginia (6:14.900) nor Stanford (6:08.550).

Against familiar foes in the first varsity 8 battle like the Cardinal (5:58.627), Cavaliers (6:08.200) and Golden Bears (6:09.550), the Orange (6:13.804) mustered a fourth-place finish. SU’s 3V8 (6:34.433) also finished fourth. It beat Virginia (6:34.649), but Syracuse also fell to unranked Notre Dame (6:32.719) along with Stanford (6:27.126) and Cal (6:33.889).

To cap things off, SU’s 2V4 performance Friday was a strong indicator of what was expected Saturday. It finished in sixth place at 7:17.704, nearly 20 seconds behind Stanford (6:58.444).

The Cardinal were impeccable throughout the weekend, finishing first in all 10 of their races. They’ve been the top team in Division I in the last three Pocock Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Polls and proved it this weekend.

Stanford had won the Pacific-12 Conference for three straight years before the conference realignment for this season. It also won the NCAA Championship in 2023. Now, it sits atop the ACC in its first year as a member.

Syracuse’s season could still be far from over with a chance to reach the NCAA Championships; Last year, it finished 11th. If it does get selected, SU will likely compete with programs it faced this weekend, including Stanford.

Published on May 17, 2025 at 1:43 pm
jaglick@syr.edu