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Message: [QUOTE="CuseLegacy, post: 1371958, member: 469"] [SIZE=6][B]Orange Competes with the Best at Clemson[/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=5][B]First varsity four boat provides strong showing[/B][/SIZE] [B]CLEMSON, S.C. – [/B]The Syracuse University women's rowing team had a full day of racing on Saturday at the Clemson Invite. Syracuse competed against some of the nation's elite programs in 10 races over two sessions on Lake Hartwell. "This event is fantastic," head coach [URL='http://cuse.com/coaches.aspx?rc=968'][U]Justin Moore[/U][/URL] said. "This is the kind of competition we need to see to make our statement about our team. While it was disappointing we did not win the O'Leary Cup, that was a big goal of ours, I feel that this multiple-race event has been very good for us. We look to build momentum into tomorrow morning." In the morning session, the first varsity eight crew competed against Dartmouth and No. 15 Harvard for the O'Leary Cup. Harvard beat out Syracuse by less than three seconds to retain the cup and the Orange placed fifth in its heat. With a time of 6:40.2, Syracuse recorded the eighth-best time among the 21 first varsity eight boats competing in the morning. "We got off the line well," added Moore. "We finished fifth in our heat, but had the eighth-fastest time. Beating No. 16 UCLA was huge, getting past them by 5.8 seconds. Harvard did a really nice job and got the O'Leary Cup." The first varsity four boat may have been the highlight of the morning session for Syracuse. The crew placed third in its heat behind No. 4 Virginia and No. 1 Ohio State, clocking in at 7:33.4. The Orange recorded the fifth-best time in the morning session's first varsity four competition. "The first varsity four had a great go at the course," commented Moore. "To post the fifth-fastest time was a really good sign for this squad." Syracuse competed in the second varsity eight, placing sixth in its heat and recording the ninth-best time of the session's second varsity eight racing. The third varsity eight recorded a fourth-place showing in its heat and the fifth-best time in the morning's third varsity eight race. The second varsity four boat was the runner-up in its heat and had the third best time of the morning second varsity four competition. "Overall in the morning, we performed at or better than our seeding," stated Moore. "We just need to improve on that in the afternoon." Syracuse certainly learned from the morning session and put up impressive numbers in the afternoon. The first varsity four boat continued to impress at the Clemson Invite, placing third in its heat behind Ohio State and No. 10 Washington State. The Orange covered the course in 7:25.4, which was the fifth-best time in the afternoon's first varsity four competition. "Our first varsity four led for 1,700 meters," said Moore. "It was a great field with some of best programs in the country. We led and just got caught not having enough horsepower as those other guys. It was a great finish. The four has shown it is NCAA Championships worthy and ready." The first varsity eight came back with a third-place showing in its heat in the afternoon, finishing behind Ohio State and Washington State, in that order. The second varsity eight boat had the same results in its heat and recorded the eighth-best time in the afternoon second varsity racing. Syracuse placed second in its heat in the third varsity eight, losing by less than three seconds to Ohio State. The Orange recorded a fourth-place finish in its second varsity four heat, which was the sixth-best time in the session's second varsity four competition. "I felt, in terms of racing, the team did a better job in the afternoon and it made us very happy," concluded Moore. Syracuse will be back on the water bright and early tomorrow for the final session of the Clemson Invite. Racing will begin at 7:30 a.m. at Lake Hartwell. Live video will be provided on clemsontigers.com. [/QUOTE]

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