#17 Orange Completes Regular Season in Ohio

Saturday, April 25

Columbus, Ohio

TBA

Syracuse University

#1 Ohio State, #13 Michigan, Michigan State

4/25/2015 1:16:00 PM | Women's Rowing

Syracuse records two second-place finishes on Saturday

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 17 Syracuse University women's rowing team completed its regular season on Saturday morning on the Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River against No. 1 Ohio State, No. 13 Michigan, and Michigan State. Ohio State, the 2013 and 2014 national champions, swept the competition on its home course.

"Overall, this is the first I have raced at this venue," head coach Justin Moore said. "I believe this is the first time Syracuse has raced here, as well. It is excellent. The quality of the race course is excellent. Our goal is to be a top-10 team in the country. If you're going to do that, you need to race to that level. Those are the kinds of the program that we need to go down the race course with and compete with."

Syracuse recorded two runner-up efforts in its final race of the regular season, placing second in the second varsity eight and second novice eight races. The Orange placed third in the first varsity eight, first varsity four, and first novice eight competitions.

"This was a really challenging week for the team," added Moore. "We arrived home late on Sunday from Clemson. We trained and then took an eight-hour bus ride out to Columbus on Thursday. That was challenging. We knew were asking a lot of our student-athletes."

One of the best performances by the Orange came in the second varsity eight race. Syracuse finished in second place, edging out Michigan at the finish line. The second varsity eight crew covered the course in 6:44.03, 1.02 seconds better than the Wolverines.

"We felt like we could make the boat go a little faster with the lineup we had," commented Moore. "They got an early lead. Ohio State was able to assert itself over the second 500 meters. Michigan kept chipping away at out lead down the race course. We had that last change of gear and were able to put the nose out in front. It's been a long time since a Syracuse boat has been in front of a Michigan boat."

After the second varsity competition, the first varsity race marked the end of day. Syracuse finished in third place, behind Ohio State and Michigan, respectively. The Orange clocked in at 6:30.01, its best time of the year, in its fourth race of the spring season.

The competition opened with the two novice eight races. The second novice eight boat placed second behind Ohio State, while the first novice eight crew finished in third place behind the host Buckeyes and Michigan State.

Following the two novice eight races, the two varsity four boats competed. Syracuse's first varsity four crew, coming off a stellar effort at the Clemson Invite, finished in third place in a hotly contested-race behind Ohio State and Michigan, respectively. The second varsity four boat placed fourth.

With the completion of the regular season, Syracuse will prepare for the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in Clemson, S.C. It will mark the third time this spring that the Orange has rowed on Lake Hartwell, following its spring break trip and last weekend's Clemson Invite. The conference championship will run from Friday, May 15 – Saturday, May 16.