Syracuse opens spring season with 4 1st-place finishes at Doc Hosea Invitational
No. 12 Syracuse women’s rowing began its spring season at the Doc Hosea Invitational Sunday. The Orange earned four first-place finishes in 12 races at the event. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
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Syracuse women’s rowing entered Sunday looking to build on momentum from last season and test itself early against some of the nation’s top programs.
The No. 12 Orange opened its spring campaign with a competitive showing at the Doc Hosea Invitational in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, on Sunday, winning four of the 12 races against a nationally-ranked field that included No. 3 Yale, No. 8 Rutgers, No. 9 Virginia, No. 16 Penn and Northeastern.
With early-season lineups still taking shape, the day served as both an evaluation and an early measuring stick against national contenders.
“Good start to the season, there were some elements that I thought we did really well… and still some things to continue improving upon,” head coach Luke McGee said in a press release. “All in all, a good first outing for us, given we’ve only been on the water for a few weeks now.”
Syracuse opened the morning with consistent performances across boats, often tightly battling the Cavaliers for the top spot.
The varsity 4 set the tone early, finishing second in 7:30.4 seconds, behind Virginia’s time of 7:17.9 seconds and ahead of Northeastern’s 8:02.9 seconds. Freshmen one seat Abigail Appleton and two seat Sarah Walsh made their Syracuse debuts. Appleton and Walsh were among six first-year athletes who were first-time competitors for the Orange.
That competitive consistency carried into the varsity 8, as SU clocked a strong time of 6:24.6 seconds, just three seconds behind Virginia (6:21.1), reinforcing the tight margin separating the Orange from one of its top ACC rivals. The crew finished comfortably ahead of Northeastern (6:50.0), trailing Syracuse by an average of nearly 32 seconds across their matchups.
The Orange found their first victory in the second varsity 8, coxed by junior Chloe Van de Meulebroecke, edging Virginia and posting a time of 6:36.1 seconds to Virginia’s 6:38.6 seconds.
“Racing great competitors today was a great test and a reminder of how sharp we need to be on the water to compete,” McGee said, pointing to races like the 2V8 as key highlights.
In the 2nd varsity 4, Syracuse again placed second (7:22.4), just behind Virginia (7:18.7). Compared to last season’s opening at the B1G/ACC/Ivy Dual, where the 2V4 recorded a time of 7:30.9 seconds and earned a win over No. 9 Michigan and No. 11 Penn, this year’s boat was roughly eight seconds faster at the same early point in the season.
The 3rd varsity 8 mirrored that pattern, finishing just two seconds behind Virginia in 6:48.8 seconds, with Northeastern trailing with a time of 7:19.0 seconds.
The 3rd varsity 4 wrapped up the morning for Syracuse, recording the slowest time of the day and logging a fourth-place finish (8:21.1) in a race featuring multiple entries from Rutgers and Yale.
The afternoon brought a shift in competition, with SU going head-to-head against Rutgers. The Orange found another gear.
The varsity 8 delivered one of the most impressive results of the day, winning in 6:20.0 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of Rutgers (6:24.5). The second varsity 8 followed with another decisive win, finishing in 6:29.5 seconds to Rutgers’ 6:35.0. The Orange executed clean, controlled performances from start to finish.
The varsity four placed second (7:29.6) behind Rutgers (7:21.9), while the 2nd varsity 4 turned in a dominant performance, winning in 7:24.7 ahead of Rutgers’ 7:36.4
In the third varsity 8, Syracuse finished second with a time of 6:47.6, behind Rutgers (6:43.7). The third varsity 4 closed out the day with a time of 8:25.3 against multiple Rutgers entries.
The Orange will now turn their attention to the Cayuga Cup next weekend in Saratoga Springs, where they’ll face No. 3 Yale and Cornell in another early-season test.
Syracuse remains in line with the standard it set last year. After finishing 12th at the NCAA Championships and earning an at-large bid for the fifth straight season, SU showed it’s still positioned to compete with the country’s elite and continue meeting that goal as the spring progresses.
