SU Posts 3 Wins at Small Boat Challenge

Sunday, November 3

Mercer, N.J.

TBA

Syracuse University

Collegiate Small Boat Sprint Championship

11/4/2013 9:07:00 AM | Women's Rowing

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Complete Results

MERCER LAKE, N.J. - Three victories highlighted the Syracuse women's rowing team's efforts at the inaugural Collegiate Small Boat Challenge on Mercer Lake, N.J. on Sunday. Head coach Justin Moore's Orange recorded victories in the single sculls "A" final, the coxless pair "B" final and the single sculls "C" final.

"I was tremendously proud of how our women performed," Moore said. "We circled this event at the beginning of this year. Rowing and racing small boats requires that an athlete assumes complete responsibility for her performance. Our women did a great job, from the moment they loaded the trailer in Syracuse to the final strokes of the last 500."

Rebecca Soja rowed the Orange to victory in the single sculls "A" final, posting a time of 8:08.30. She finished over five seconds ahead of the second-place rower from Princeton and almost nine seconds ahead of the third-place shell from Wisconsin.

"Rebecca has grown so much over her four years of rowing at Syracuse, Moore said. "Consistency has always been an issue for her. I have challenged her a great deal over the past four years and it has been great to watch her accept these challenges, struggle with them, yet never stop believing in her ability to perform. The single requires that the athlete be 'on it' in every stroke of training. Rebecca has done just that this fall. It was great to see her move in the third 500 of the race, a portion of the race where she has struggled in the past, and come through for a well-deserved win."

In the "C" final, Alex Zadravec rowed Syracuse to victory in a time 8:46.18, over six seconds ahead of the second-place rower from Tufts and over eight seconds faster than third-place Northeastern.

SU's third victory came in the pairs "B" final. Sienna DeSantis and Ailish Tinney rowed to the win in 8:02.60, just over two seconds ahead of second-place Penn.

Syracuse's top pair of Miranda Williams and Amy Ludovici posted a strong second-place finish in the "A" final in a time of 7:44.11, less than four second behind the winning Northeastern crew (7:40.35) and .7 seconds ahead of third-place Boston University.

"Placing at least one crew in the 'A' final of each event was a goal for our team," Moore said. "The fact that we were the only team to have a crew in each of the 'A' finals, and that we placed five crews in the three 'A' finals, is a testament to the work these women did this summer and fall."

The pair of Kelsey Adams and Tosca Wilson posted a second-place finish in the "D" level final in a time of 8:22.17, behind the winning crew from Princeton (8:18.01) and ahead of the third-place UMass (8:28.72).

Other second-place finishes for the Orange came from Eliza Frank in the single sculls "B" final and from Madison Leitch and Rose Aschebrock in the double sculls "B" final, just a second behind the winning UMass crew.

"The other coaches and I, who formed the organizational committee, could not have expected the event to go any better in an inaugural year," Moore said. "The faces of the athletes told the entire story. Women were smiling, from the 'A' final to the 'F' final."