cuse.com article
row2k coverage
The Orange capped off their 2016 campaign with a 15th place overall finish from all three crews at the IRA Championships. Each crew faced some of the strongest collegiate rowers in the nation. They faced many of the same teams from the cup races and Eastern Sprints, in addition to some west coast powerhouses like Washington and Cal. Overall, the Orange improved from last year's results, with their most successful season since a 5th place finish by the Varsity eight in 2012 and sees the progress as a step forward to keep pushing off of.
Syracuse recorded a 17th place showing for the Ten Eyck Award (named after Syracuse's very own legend) which was presented to the 2016 National Champion: Cal. For the Chapman Award, which is determined by a team's improvement from the previous year, Syracuse tied for 5th.
Due to an injury in the top boat, all of the line-ups shifted last-minute during the regatta, but the men adapted and continued to stay positive. They demonstrated the same resiliency and grit as they had during the cup races in some very tough, close races. The mentality was evident among all of the SU rowers regardless of which boat they were in. Ultimately the younger or less experienced athletes learned some valuable lessons to take away and got to do some good racing. Although qualification for the IRA Championship is at the individual boat level, it's clear that SU is in it for the collective success of the team, making sure that each boat makes it to the national championship. Together, they are gaining speed.
1v8+
2V8+
3V8+
LINE-UPS
1V8
C – Santora, Reichard, McKenney, Douglas, Tavares, Messner, Dawson, Staprans, Schiera
2V8
C – Kollman, Walker, Leimeister, Kelley, Barni, Busco, Johnson, Conroy, Oster
3V8
C – Wagner, Will, Marks, Vanderberg, Hunt, Bauerfeld, Weitekamp, Glaude, Shober
next steps
“The build back up certainly has to do with amassing talent (recruiting) but also building the right fitness, technique, and racing mentality/instincts. We are going to have to do it step by step.”
All in all, the men's program had a successful 2016 season with many small wins for the program and a rise up in the rankings. They got on the right side in some close races and proved to themselves that they are making strides in the upward direction. It will take time to build back to where the team was in 2012, but step-by-step and stroke-by-stroke the men are putting in the work to get back there. And there never seems to be any question about the effort with these guys, so we're excited to see them maintain the enthusiasm and race even smarter.