The Rochester men’s and women’s rowing teams competed in a variety of disciplines at the New York State Collegiate Rowing Championships, held on Saturday, April 23 in Saratoga, New York. Both the men and women qualified for grand finals in their respective events, placing second and sixth respectively.
Collegiate rowing races are exactly 2,000 meters long, with team boats holding two, four, or eight rowers, depending on the event. Boats compete along a straight line, with six boats per race. Rochester also ran multiple teams per discipline, increasing their chances of success. Competitors enjoyed some warmer weather, although overcast conditions only lowered water temperatures.
The YellowJacket women’s eight team started strong in the first race of the day, finishing second of six in their heat to qualify for the final later that day. The men’s four-person team took the water next and continued Rochester’s promising start, finishing just 0.972 seconds behind heat winners Iona College.
The men’s novice eight team, considered non-varsity competitors, posted the fastest time of any UR team with an impressive 6:54.
In the women’s varsity eight-person final, Rochester finished sixth of 10 competitors with a time of 7:12, just half of a second slower than their qualifying time. The men’s varsity four-person team fared slightly better in their final, placing second behind Iona College again. The YellowJackets capped off their day with a fourth of eight finish in the women’s second varsity final, and a seventh of 10 finish in the men’s two-person final race.
UR will look to capitalize on their consistency at the Liberty League Conference Championships, held on April 29 also in Saratoga, N.Y. If you would like to support YellowJacket athletics at this time, a full list of events can be found on the athletic composite calendar.
