Syracuse women’s rowing earns multiple Ivy Invitational wins
The Orange’s first-place finishes included winning one varsity 8 race and claiming two third varsity 8 events in Princeton, New Jersey. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
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Syracuse has spent the early part of its spring season proving it can compete with the nation’s top programs. Saturday’s Ivy Invitational in Princeton offered another measuring stick, and the Orange delivered one of their most complete performances yet.
SU was set out to face No. 6 Princeton, No. 9 Brown, No. 17 Harvard and Cornell in a full day of racing.
It didn’t dominate the field outright, but it didn’t need to. Instead, the Orange showed depth, consistency and the ability to compete across all eleven boats.
That mattered especially against a program like Princeton, which has consistently challenged Syracuse in recent seasons. Just last year in Princeton, the Orange failed to record a top-two finish in any of its six races.
This year looked different.
Syracuse stayed within striking distance of top-ranked Princeton in the morning session, opening with a second-place finish in the second varsity 8 (7:33.33), just over seven seconds back.
The varsity 8 followed with another tight race, finishing second in 7:13.16 and again trailing only the Tigers (7:09.00).
Those slim early margins set the tone. Syracuse wasn’t far off — and it proved it could win.
The breakthrough came in the third varsity 8, where the Orange delivered one of their most dominant performances of the day. Syracuse won the race in 7:50.246, finishing well ahead of Princeton, Cornell and Harvard.
In the varsity 4, Syracuse placed third (8:24.558) behind Princeton and Harvard Radcliffe, while adding second-place finishes in both the second varsity 4 and third varsity 4 races later in the morning.
Even without a win in every event, the Orange consistently remained competitive across all boats.
The afternoon session shifted to dual racing, where Syracuse faced Brown head-to-head. The varsity 8 delivered one of the team’s strongest performances of the regatta, defeating Brown in 6:55.861. Coxed by senior Dana Shearer, the win marked a key bounce back after the morning session and showed SU’s ability to adjust and close out races in important moments.
The second varsity 8 followed with a second-place finish, but the Orange returned to the top in the third varsity 8, winning again with a time of 7:19.525 seconds. It was Syracuse’s second 3V8 victory of the day.
In the fours, SU continued to push the pace, earning second-place finishes in both the varsity 4 and 2nd varsity 4. The margins were close, but the Orange fell to Brown by 9.998 seconds in the varsity 4 and by just 1.750 seconds in the second varsity 4.
Across both sessions, Syracuse placed among the top in nearly every event while collecting several wins, including victories in the third varsity 8 (twice), the second varsity 4, and the afternoon varsity 8.
More importantly, it consistently challenged top-10 competition.
As the spring continues, that depth could be the difference, especially as SU heads into next week’s New York State Championships.
