SU women’s rowing sweeps OSU, wins 3 races vs. UMich at Wolverine Double Dual
Syracuse women’s rowing swept Ohio State and won three races against Michigan at the Wolverine Double Dual Saturday. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
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Syracuse women’s rowing continued its strong spring slate with a dominant showing at the Wolverine Double Dual in Ann Arbor Saturday, winning eight of its 10 races.
The Orange swept No. 16 Ohio State in the morning session before winning three of five races against No. 17 Michigan in the afternoon.
After building momentum in recent weeks, including taking a Varsity 4+ title at last week’s New York State Championships, the No. 10 Orange continue to prove their strength across all boats.
They opened the day with a statement performance against the Buckeyes. Syracuse set the tone early in the varsity 8, finishing in 6:19.1 to secure a three-second victory over Ohio State.
SU’s varsity 8 has been its most consistent and dependable boat this season, regularly prevailing against top-ranked competition. It placed 1.55 seconds behind Yale at the Cayuga Cup, defeated Brown in 6:55 at the Ivy Invitational and picked up two wins this weekend against Ohio State and Michigan.
The second varsity 8 delivered its best performance. The Orange (6:27.2) crossed the line a whopping 12 seconds ahead of the Buckeyes, who finished in 6:39.8.
The Orange continued to separate themselves in the smaller boats. The varsity 4 posted a winning time of 7:09.5, finishing over four seconds ahead of Ohio State (7:13.9). Coxed by Isabella Desantis, this crew improved immensely from last weekend, shaving over a minute off its preliminary time of 8:51.
The varsity 4 has emerged as one of Syracuse’s most promising boats. After early-season finishes a few seconds behind top crews — including a 7:15.77 showing against Yale — it broke through with a dominant win at the New York State Championship.
SU’s second varsity 4, which finished in 7:17.6, also closed the margin with Ohio State, crossing the line nearly 10 seconds later.
Syracuse completed the sweep in the third varsity 8, where it clocked a 6:41.1 finish, seven seconds clear of the Buckeyes.
Against the Wolverines, SU’s races were more contested. Its varsity 8 set the tone, pulling away late to finish in 6:19.4 and take control of the afternoon with a nearly six-second win over Michigan. The momentum carried into the second varsity 8, where the Orange held off a late push from the Wolverines, topping them by just over a second at 6:22.7.
Michigan answered in the varsity 4, handing Syracuse one of its few setbacks of the afternoon with a 7:16.1 finish ahead of the Orange’s 7:22.6. The second varsity 4 was even tighter, with SU battling down the course but falling just short by less than a second.
The day came down to the 3V8 breaking the tie, as Syracuse and Michigan raced nearly even from start to finish. In a final sprint, the Orange surged ahead at the line, securing a 6:46.6 finish — just 0.3 seconds in front — in the most dramatic race of the day.
The Orange have a couple of weeks off in preparation for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina, where they’ll look to continue their dominance.
