Last week, Syracuse tennis coach Mac Gifford compared a potential match against Notre Dame to the United States’ plight against the Soviet Union in hockey in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Too bad Syracuse couldn’t live up to the script.

The Orange lost to the No. 25 Irish, 4-0, in the Big East championship game. SU beat Boston College on Friday and Seton Hall on Thursday to advance to the title game, which it hadn’t competed in since 1995.

The loss ends Syracuse’s season. The Orange finished 14-8, 5-1 in the conference. It’s SU’s best finish since 2000.

Rowing

The Syracuse men’s rowing team’s varsity eight won its first race of the spring, defeating Georgetown and Temple in Philadelphia. SU won in 6:21.7. Temple finished in 6:27.01 while the Hoyas finished with a time of 6:27.44.

SU rows in the Packard Cup versus Dartmouth on May 8 on Onondaga Lake.

The SU women’s rowing varsity eight won the Big East championship on Saturday, defeating second-place Notre Dame by more than 14 seconds. The Orange finished the 2,000-meter course in Worcester, Mass., in 8:05.18.

The Orange next competes against Massachusetts and Villanova in Syracuse on April 30.

Published on April 24, 2005 at 12:00 pm