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Syracuse women’s rowing reached new heights in 2024. On May 18, SU won its first Atlantic Coast Conference title in program history by defeating Virginia and breaking the Cavaliers’ 13-year winning streak.

After the ACC Championship, the Orange received five all-conference selections. They also tied the program’s highest ranking (eighth) in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Poll this season.

“It’s not just this team that (won the ACC),” senior captain Elizabeth Vogt said. “It’s the past four, six years of teams that put this goal into our minds. We’ve worked every year to get better in every way possible, so to be able to finally reach the top of the mountain was really exciting.”

Because of its ACC triumph, SU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Here’s everything you need to know about the Orange before they compete for a national title from May 31 to June 2 in Bethel, Ohio:

Recapping the season

The Orange started off on the right foot at the ACC/Big Ten/Ivy Dual in March, winning six races against five ranked teams — Penn, Indiana, Rutgers, Radcliffe and Ohio State.

A few weeks later, they fell to then-No. 5 Yale in almost every race at the Cayuga Cup. SU’s varsity 4 was its only boat to claim first.

Syracuse then raced at the UVA Invite, where it consistently defeated then-No. 17 Oregon State, but was handily beaten by then-No. 1 Stanford and then-No. 4 Cal. The Orange later bounced back with a stronger showing at the Lake Wheeler Invitational to end the regular season.

SU placed fourth out of 18 teams for the Pocock Cup, but couldn’t beat then-No. 5 Tennessee, losing 10 races to the Volunteers.

Then, Syracuse made history at the ACC Championship. The top two varsity 8’s won gold medals, while the 3V8 and 2V4 earned medals as well. The V8’s win proved crucial, securing the tiebreaker over Virginia that granted SU the conference title.

“We’ve been working at this for years to try and finally accomplish winning the ACC Championship, so there’s certainly a lot of emotion there,” SU head coach Luke McGee said.

SU’s history at the NCAA Championships

Syracuse’s first NCAA team bid came in 2002, but it didn’t return until 2016. That year, SU placed 13th, defeating higher seeds in two of three races. Syracuse also qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2017 and 2018, finishing 13th and 16th, respectively.

McGee took over as head coach in 2019 and has now guided SU to four straight national title appearances.

In 2021, the Orange claimed 10th place, their best team finish in program history. SU’s varsity 8 placed 12th, while the varsity 4 and second varsity 8 both ranked 11th. The next year, SU captured a 17th-place finish, then improved to 13th in 2023. The ACC-champion varsity 8 finished eighth, nine spots better than in 2022.

“We knew there were still things to be improved,” Vogt said. “Going into NCAAs, we have better preparation and more confidence in our abilities and I think that’ll end up helping us at the national championship.”

Top competition

Syracuse will see plenty of familiar teams in Bethel. Out of the other 21 teams, the Orange raced against 11 this season. They out-rowed Virginia and Duke at the ACC Championship, as well as Indiana, Penn, Ohio State and Rutgers at the ACC/Big Ten/Ivy Dual.

“When all the names were being called, it was comforting knowing that we’ve raced the majority of those teams this season,” Vogt said. “We’re not going into this championship completely blind … we know what these teams can do.”

Despite their impressive victories, the Orange struggled against the best-of-the-best this season. SU lost to all four top-six teams it faced in 2024 — Stanford, California, Tennessee and Yale. These squads, plus other highly-ranked teams such as Texas and Princeton, will be Syracuse’s main competition.

How Syracuse can win

SU’s 13th-place finish last year and its ACC victory this season show that it can hang with the top crews in the nation. In order to win, Syracuse needs every boat to contribute.

Each crew has had strong performances throughout the year, but besides at the ACC title, they haven’t all come at the same time. The second varsity 8’s best showing came at the ACC/Big Ten/Ivy Dual, where it won two races and was named the ACC Crew of the Week. The varsity 4 also won this honor after being the only boat to defeat Yale at the Cayuga Cup.

The varsity 8 has been the Orange’s most consistent boat after retaining six of eight rowers from 2023. It posted victories at the ACC/Big Ten/Ivy Dual, Lake Wheeler and the ACC Championship.

If SU wants to outperform its program-best 10th-place finish, or even win a national championship, it can’t afford for any boat to have an off day.

“This is a team championship,” McGee said. “Every person, seat and point really matters.”

Published on May 30, 2024 at 4:31 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99