All 5 Syracuse boats qualify for grand final at Doc Hosea Invitational

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No. 13 Syracuse debuted its 2022 season on Sunday at the Doc Hosea Invitational in Camden, New Jersey. The Orange were coming off their best season in program history, where they were ranked within the top 10 nationally. SU placed third in the 2021 ACC Championships and also qualified for the NCAA Championships.

On Sunday, each of the Orange’s boats advanced to the grand final, including two first-place finishes in the preliminary heats. Due to inclement weather, however, the grand finals were canceled.

The Orange’s varsity 8 and second varsity 8 won their heats by more than 10 seconds, finishing at 6:29.56 and 6:31.75 topping Navy, who placed second place in both heats, finishing 12 and 15 seconds behind Syracuse in each, respectively. 

The second varsity 4 placed second, finishing within four seconds of Columbia at 7:51.59. Syracuse’s third varsity 8 also placed second behind Columbia, missing out on first place by 6.9 seconds. The Orange’s varsity 4 boat placed third, behind Navy and Columbia, but they finished just under five and a half seconds ahead of fourth place Cornell, rounding out a perfect SU run to the grand finals.

Last year the Doc Hosea Invitational was canceled due to COVID-19. The regatta stemmed from the Orange Challenge Cup which began in 1977, which Syracuse competes in along with Penn and Northeastern. That trophy will be awarded on April 30, when the Orange race against Penn in Princeton, New Jersey. 

Syracuse will next compete on April 9 at the Saratoga Invitational at Fish Creek when it competes against Yale, Wisconsin and Harvard-Radcliffe.