Syracuse Varsity 8 defeats Radcliffe, wins O’Leary Cup

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UPDATED: April 11, 2022 at 12:07 p.m.

Syracuse’s Varsity 8 boat won the Elizabeth H. O’Leary Cup on Saturday, defeating Harvard-Radcliffe in its final race. The Orange, who rank 14th in the country, won three races in Sunday’s regatta and had four second place finishes.

In the final race, Syracuse’s Varsity 8 finished with a time of 6:43.06. Harvard-Radcliffe placed second nearly 20 seconds after the Orange at 7:01.19. The O’Leary Cup, which has existed since 2000, is awarded to the winner of the Varsity 8 race between Syracuse, Harvard-Radcliffe and Dartmouth. The Orange won its last O’Leary Cup in 2017 at the Clemson Invitational.

Syracuse’s Varsity 4 also beat Harvard-Radcliffe with a time of 7:32.04 along with the second Varsity 8 at 6:53.02, beating both Harvard-Radcliffe’s A and B boats.

In the rest of its weekend races in Saratoga Springs, New York, Syracuse’s boats also raced against Yale and Wisconsin. The Orange finished second in the Varsity 8 (6:37.52), second Varsity 8 (6:43.46) and Varsity 4 (7:33.27) races. Yale won all three races while Wisconsin finished behind the Orange in every event.

Syracuse will next compete on April 22 at the Lake Wheeler Invitational.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article had a picture of the Syracuse men’s rowing team instead of the women’s team. The women’s team won the O’Leary Cup on Saturday. 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the date of Syracuse’s races. The races were held on Saturday, not Sunday. The Daily Orange regrets this error.