#16 Syracuse Places Third at ACC Championship

Friday, May 15

Clemson, S.C.

TBA

Syracuse University

ACC Championship

5/16/2015 11:03:00 AM | Women's Rowing

Orange finishes in third for the second straight year

CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 16 Syracuse University women's rowing team finished in third place at the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship on Saturday morning on Lake Hartwell on the campus of Clemson University. Syracuse recorded three podium finishes in its second trip to the ACC Championship.

No. 3 Virginia won its sixth straight and 15th overall conference title with 99 points on Saturday, sweeping the competition. No. 19 Notre Dame placed second with 82 points. Syracuse earned 73 points, one ahead of RV Louisville. It marked the second year in-a-row that Syracuse placed third as a team at the ACC Championship.

"I think it's one of the challenges of being in a great conference," head coach Justin Moore commented. "The heats were very intense last night. I feel like we executed the way we wanted to. Today, we were probably one percent off of where we wanted to be. The team's performance was in no way a lack of effort or courage on the race course."

Syracuse ended the day with a third-place showing in the grand final of the first varsity eight competition. The boat covered the course in 6:31.2. It marked the second straight year that the Orange finished in third place in the main event of the conference championship. Virginia finished in first place, while Notre Dame took runner-up honors.

In the first grand final of the day, the third varsity eight crew finished in third place behind Virginia and Louisville, clocking in at 6:50.0. The Orange opened strong and had Virginia in its sights in the opening 500 meters. Virginia asserted itself over the remainder of the course and Louisville was able to overtake Syracuse in the final 1,000 meters.

The Orange recorded its second podium finish in the third grand final of the day in the first varsity four competition. Syracuse earned a bronze-medal finish, covering the 2,000 meter course in 7:20.4, behind Virginia and Notre Dame. It was a close race throughout between the Orange and Fighting Irish for second place, but Syracuse could not overtake Notre Dame in the final 1,000 meters despite a late rally.

Syracuse held its seed in the grand final of the second varsity four, placing fourth in a time of 7:33.4. The battle in this race was for second and third place, between Louisville, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. The Orange was in second place with 500 meters remaining, but could not hold on in the final stretch.

In the grand final of the second varsity eight, Syracuse finished in fourth place, behind Virginia, Louisville, and Notre Dame. The Orange completed the course on Lake Hartwell in 6:37.0.

With the completion of the ACC Championship, Syracuse now awaits it postseason fate. The Orange is hoping to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship in Gold River, Calif., which would be its first trip to the national championship since 2005. The NCAA Championship Selection Show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com on Tuesday, May 19 at 5 p.m.