Conlan Cup

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BU Retains Conlan Cup, Syracuse Sweeps Columbia

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cuse.com article

conlan cup photo gallery

No. 7 Boston University swept the competition to defend the Conlan Cup, while No. 11 Syracuse continued to make strides as they fought hard down the course to defeat No. 18 Columbia in all races. Similar to the results of last week's races in Annapolis, Syracuse placed second in all three boats, showing consistency in their results and progress throughout the season. The finishing order of each race was: BU, Syracuse, Columbia. 

The Varsity 8+ in the fight for the Conlan Cup [photo credit Ray Stubblebine]

The Varsity 8+ in the fight for the Conlan Cup [photo credit Ray Stubblebine]

The Terriers took home the Conlan Cup for the fourth consecutive year. The cup has been contested between BU, Syracuse, and Columbia since 2001, named in honor of the 'father of Boston University Rowing' Jim Conlan, who put together a boat with some classmates in 1937 which gained varsity status from the university in 1939. Of the sixteen years the race has been held, the record now stands with eight wins each for BU and Syracuse. However, Syracuse and Boston University have been racing each other for over 75 years since 1940, and this race happened to mark the 50th match-up for the two programs. Special thanks to Columbia for hosting and to BU for providing live video and commentary. 

1V8+

2V8+

3V8+

[photos courtesy of Ray Stubblebine]

After attending to an equipment issue at the start, the varsity eight had one of its best performances off the line, sticking its bow ball in front of the powerful BU crew. By the second 500m, the Terriers had overtaken the lead from the Orange by 3 seats and Columbia was falling off the pace, a length back of the leaders. However, the Orange never gave in, pushing hard through the toughest part of the race, the third 500m, and hanging on to remain in contact with the stern of BU through the finish. Syracuse crossed the line 2.6 seconds back of BU and 14.6 seconds ahead of Columbia with a considerable margin of open water. 
The second varsity race was the closest of the day. Although the Orange held the lead over the Lions from the first 500m, they had to respond to a strong surge from the Lions in the final strokes, winning by a slight margin of less than half a second. The crew may have used a lot of their energy in the first 1,000m, but again, they continued to fight for each inch until the race was over. 
The third varsity established an effective rhythm and maintained their second-place position in the field over the length of the course. They finished roughly four seconds back of the Terriers and 10 seconds ahead of the Lions to start off the morning of racing on a high note. 

“I think all three of our crews raced pretty hard. ”
— Coach Dave Reischman

LINE-UPS
1V
C – Santora, Reichard, Dawson, Staprans, McKenney, Messner, Schiera, Douglas, Tavares
2V
C – Kollman, Oster, Conroy, Barni, Leimeister, Walker, Kelley, Johnson, Busco
3V
C – Wagner, Marks, Vanderberg, Weitekamp, Graves, Hunt, Eisenberg, Shober, Bauerfeld

next steps

This was the first of two cup races for Syracuse this weekend. The Orange head up to New Hampshire to battle for the Packard Cup against Dartmouth tomorrow morning where they intend to keep the momentum going. It will make for a busy weekend, which will certainly test the student-athletes, but will also prepare them for the intensity of the championship racing coming up as the regular season nears a close. 

proud to be orange.

Captain James Schiera presents the Conlan Cup to Boston University. [photo credit: Ray Stubblebine]

Captain James Schiera presents the Conlan Cup to Boston University. [photo credit: Ray Stubblebine]