It was a long wait, but the Syracuse rowing team’s victory this weekend is a strong sign that more trophies could be returning to Syracuse in the future. For the first time since 2002, Syracuse was able to capture the Ten Eyck Cup as the SU varsity eight raced past the Rutgers rowing team in New Brunswick, N.J., on Saturday.

The win propelled the Orange to a 1-0 start for the spring season.

Rutgers had won the previous three Ten Eyck Cup races, yet the No. 16 Orange felt confident it would not only win back the cup against the unranked Scarlet Knights, but do so in substantial fashion. The team felt this race could be used as a statement game to set the tone for the rest of the season, and a statement certainly was made by the victors this weekend.

The Orange won the race with a time of 5 minutes, 46.6 seconds, compared to the time of 6:01.1 managed by the boat from Rutgers. The margin of victory was 14 and a half seconds, which was the substantial margin Syracuse had hoped to achieve.

‘It was goal No. 1,’ SU senior Tim Mambort said. ‘It’s always the hope that the team can start off (the season) with a win. It’s nice bringing home some hardware.’

The trophy is Mambort’s first cup victory since coming to Syracuse, but he expects this to be the start of a continuing trend. This year’s Syracuse team has had more experience than previous teams and he expects this experience is what will carry the team. He feels the team’s dearth of cup victories in previous seasons makes this team hungrier and more willing to endure the intense practices and sore muscles that go along with being a strong rowing team.

Furthermore, the team has become more confident in its abilities this season after seeing immense progress throughout the fall season and having successful training sessions through winter, including some strong workouts in Florida weeks before the spring season began.

In addition to the varsity eight’s victory, the junior varsity eight managed to also speed by their opposition. The SU JV eight finished with a time of 6:01.09 to Rutgers’s time of 6:18 – a time differential of nearly 17 seconds.

The freshman eight for Syracuse could not complete the sweep as they fell to Rutgers by 10 seconds.

Overall, the SU rowing team is elated about its impressive performances on Saturday. Nevertheless, the team is trying to stay focused on its next race.

The varsity eight hopes to make it 2-for-2 in cup races this season when Cornell and Navy come to visit Lake Onondaga for the Goes Trophy Race on Saturday, April 15. Syracuse has not claimed the Goes Trophy in seven years, but has set lofty expectations this year and they are preparing themselves not to disappoint.

‘We set high goals at the beginning of the year,’ Mambort said. ‘But we can’t dwell too long on the victory. We celebrate and move on (to the next race).’

Published on April 10, 2006 at 12:00 pm