cuse.com article

In the women's first official race of the 2016 spring season, the Orange dominated as a team, winning 8 out of 10 events. The field of competitors in the inaugural regatta included 10 teams: Syracuse, University of Pennsylvania, Northeastern, Dartmouth, Cornell, Boston University, University of Rhode Island, Navy, University of Minnesota, and University of Massachusetts.

Sunday morning, athletes brushed snow off the boats and equipment before taking to the water. [photo credit: Carolina Ratcliff]

The inaugural regatta is named in memory of Dr. Tim Hosea who died suddenly in August 2015 and was appropriately known for being the town doctor or caregiver for the sport of rowing for over 30 years. The competition is a spin-off of 2015's Nordic 9 which was hosted by Cornell on Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, NY. The intent has been to get together a group of northern schools who have all endured the challenges of harsh winters during their preparation for the start of the season to establish a relatively level playing field in that respect. The regatta was graciously hosted by Saratoga Rowing Association on Fish Creek in Saratoga Springs, NY. Despite the lovely spring weather at the end of March, cold temperatures and some overnight snow introduced conditions the athletes were more than familiar with. Saturday there was a blustery cross-head wind, but the water was fairly good. Sunday conditions were cold, with a cross-tail winds that made the course more challenging as the morning progressed, although the water was relatively flat and protected to start.

race format and results

Originally, the structure was two heats with A and B finals, where the A finals would include the top two finishers of each heat and the next fastest time and the B final would include the last two finishes of each heat and the slower of the third place times. Due to the oncoming snow, the schedule was shifted up to have the first two rounds of racing late Saturday afternoon and the final rounds of racing early Sunday morning set up as grouped heat races for V8+, 2V8+, V4+, 2V4+, and 3V8+ events. Races were run on 10 minute centers in the order of V8+, 2V8+, V4+, 2V4+, 3V8+. For those who recall last year's Nordic 9, blustery conditions, strong currents and lots of debris in the inlet led to the capsizing of Syracuse's 2V8+ and the cancellation of the majority of races on the second day of racing, thus precautions were taken and races went off smoothly.

SATURDAY:
Round 1: Syracuse, Penn, Northeastern, URI, BU
Round 2: Minnesota, Dartmouth, Cornell, Navy, UMass

SUNDAY:
Round 3: Syracuse, Minnesota, Dartmouth, Northeastern, Navy
Round 4: Penn, Cornell, Navy, URI, BU

Complete results on row2k:

round 1

round 2

round 3

round 4

ORANGE FINISHES:
V8+ 2nd (to Penn by 1 sec.), 1st [in Round 1 Syracuse had breakage before the start]
2V8+ 1st, 2nd (to Minnesota by .24 sec.)
V4+ 1st, 1st
2V4+ 1st, 1st
3V8+ 1st, 1st

LINE-UPS:
V8+
Rodriguez (c), McCann, Carey, Fitzpatrick, Caldwell, Tomeny, Taylor, McQuay, Lee
2V8+
Spraggins (c), Johnson, Tobias, Dorner, Warnecke, Konishesky, Ratcliff, Adams, Allen
V4+
Vasiliou (c), Thornton, Hemida, Habjan, Richards
2V4+
Menillo (c), Gill, Jones, Hughes, Humphrey
3V8+
Litovsky (c), Moller, Torcivia, Preston, Puro, Ezeamama, Andolfatto, Bengis, McDonald

the Orange Challenge Cup & the Kittell Cup

Although the annual Orange Challenge and Kittell Cups had been traditionally contested in dual/tri style format rotating through host venues, in recent years the cup races have been integrated into the heats of invitational regattas. This allows the opponents to race each other for the cup in contention, while also having the opportunity for greater cross-over with teams they otherwise would not have raced.
The Orange Challenge Cup has been contested annually by Northeastern, Syracuse, and Penn since 1979 (except 1994 when no race was held). The winner of the cup is determined by the outcome of the Varsity 8+ event. While the Huskies boast the most wins, the Orange came in this year as the defending champions, having claimed the cup in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The match-up was folded into last year's Nordic 9, where the Orange had a clean sweep against Penn and Northeastern; however, because the V8+ did not race due to darkness, unsafe conditions, and debris there was no determined winner. Consequently, the outcome was decided by the results of various competitions, where the Orange came out on top, coincidently also in Saratoga Springs. This year the Orange Challenge Cup went back to Penn, who finished the V8+ Heat 1 in first with a time of 7:14.49, followed by Syracuse in 7:15.45 and Northeastern in 7:17.46. With the exception of the V8+, the Orange again beat the Quakers and the Huskies to the finish line in the 2V8+, V4+.
The Kittell Cup has been contested annually by Boston University and Syracuse since 2003. The winner is determined by the outcome of the Varsity 8+ event. The Kittell Cup was donated by former SU rower Kristen Bidwell '90. In 2015, BU and SU did not race for the cup, however Syracuse had claimed it previously. In the first heat of racing, the Orange finished in second with a time of 7:15.45 ahead of the 5th place Terriers clocking 7:49.52. Syracuse holds on to the Kittell Cup for another year.

highlights and next steps

Despite not retaining the Orange Challenge Cup, the Orange had a very strong showing on Fish Creek. The team's ability to win 8 out of 10 events demonstrates a tremendous amount of team depth, particularly in the varsity 4+ and third varsity 8+ categories where margins to the next fastest time were considerable. However there is certainly a lot of pressure placed on the Varsity 8+ as the priority boat, and it was this boat that truly exemplified the spirit and drive it is going to take to make it to the NCAAs this year and no longer be on the bubble. After Saturday's loss, the crew had every intention to redeem themselves and leave it out on the water. More so than any physiological or technical training that had been done in preparation for this race, it was the heart and grit of the athletes that propelled them to the finish of 6:34.23, by far the fastest time of the weekend and nearly 12 seconds ahead of second-place Minnesota. In an interview, Senior Kelsey Thornton, native of nearby Clifton Park, NY, expressed how deeply engrained the goal of making it to the NCAAs this year is in their minds. As leaders, the seniors have been pushing the team to get there and finally burst the bubble that has had them just missing out on the national championship the last three years. She explained how everyday is a seat race, in the way that athletes are always competing with each other to bring out their greatest strengths, both physical and mental. Thornton also spoke about how perfect the course is for racing and reminisced of when she rowed there in high school. Up next, the Orange will face some of the country's top-ranked teams at the Clemson Invite April 16-17th. But that doesn't mean they get next weekend off; they will be continuing to push themselves past their limits in training and when doing their 2K assessments.

Proud to be ORANGE.