Syracuse women’s rowing falls to Yale in Cayuga Cup for 2nd straight year
For the second straight year, Syracuse fell to Yale in the Cayuga Cup. Although SU showed improvement, the Bulldogs swept all six races. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Syracuse entered its second race of the season Saturday at the Cayuga Cup with unfinished business, aiming to turn last season’s runner-up result at the event into a statement win. The matchup would determine if SU could compete against the country’s top programs.
And it absolutely did, closing the gap on Yale — which it finished behind at last year’s Cayuga Cup.
Still, the Orange came up short again. They delivered one of their most competitive showings against Yale in recent memory, highlighted by a razor-thin 1.55-second margin in the varsity 8, but the Bulldogs ultimately swept all six races to claim their fourth consecutive cup.
“I thought overall it was a great team performance,” SU head coach Luke McGee said in a press release. “Especially for our second week out, racing against the defending national runner-up Yale. Everybody showed a lot of grit and determination and raced hard.”
Yale established control early in the third varsity 8, crossing the line in 6:38.38. Syracuse followed just over six seconds back in 6:44.47, while Cornell — the third team at Saturday’s event — placed third in 7:13.40. The early result set the tone for the day, as Yale’s depth proved difficult to overcome.
Compared to the 2025 Cayuga Cup, SU showed significant improvement in the third varsity 8, cutting its time from 7:11.08 to 6:44.47. The result increased its lead over Cornell, but the Bulldogs remained in front.
The most competitive race came in the varsity 8, where Syracuse pushed Yale to the limit. The Bulldogs finished in 6:12.80, while the Orange crossed the line at 6:14.35. Coxed by junior Kelsey Boswell, one of SU’s most experienced members, Syracuse shaved off nearly six seconds from its time from last week’s varsity 8 competition (6:20.0).
Four-seat senior Ellie-Kate Hutchinson, six-seat sophomore Niamh Cassidy and five-seat graduate student Kateryna Ustiuzhanina all propelled SU in the tight second-place showing. The close finish proves the boat’s potential.
In the second varsity 8, Yale posted a 6:19.93 time to edge SU’s 6:22.67 mark. Cornell again finished third. The pattern continued in the varsity 4 races, where the Orange regularly challenged but couldn’t overtake the Bulldogs.
Yale claimed the varsity 4 in 7:12.57. Syracuse came in just 3.20 seconds behind at 7:15.77. In the second varsity 4, the Bulldogs finished in 7:12.71, while SU crossed in 7:18.27.
The Orange closed the regatta in the third varsity 4, finishing in 7:39.87 behind Yale’s 7:32.87. Freshman coxswain Catherine Miguel-Rasteiro made her debut in the boat after guiding the third varsity 8 at the Doc Hosea Invitational last weekend.
Across all six races, Syracuse stayed within striking distance, especially in the varsity 8, where it came closest to staving off Yale’s sweep.
The average margin of defeat for Syracuse — trailing 4.36 seconds per race — remained nearly the same as last year’s event. Still, the showing marked a step forward early in the campaign.
