RACE DAY: An inside look at Syracuse women’s rowing during its Cayuga Cup regatta

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ARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The sun rose on Fish Creek in Saratoga, New York, reflecting an array of oranges, pinks and purples on the still surface of the water. It was eight hours before the Cayuga Cup race launched down the 2000-meter stretch.

Hours later, wake from boats rippled the once-calm creek as coxswains’ screams from the docks echoed around the boat house.  On Saturday, Syracuse women’s rowing competed against then-No. 3 Yale and Cornell, finishing in second in all races behind Yale. The Cayuga Cup, created in 2003, is given to the winner of the race between the three schools. 

Although the regatta didn’t officially begin until 3 p.m. that afternoon, the team began preparing physically and mentally upon arrival at the Saratoga Rowing Association at about 10:30 a.m. As soon as the bus pulled into the boat house and everyone stepped off, the team began rigging the boats with the device that holds the oars while blasting a speaker. 

“We just turn it up to full blast, play music, keep it really light as we are unloading the trailer and getting ready,” said Hannah Murphy, Syracuse’s coxswain. 

With six boats racing and in need of riggers, it was all hands on deck to prepare them. Once the boats were ready, the team stretched and warmed up for its pre-race row. 

Head coach Luke McGee drives the boat trailer two-and-a-half hours from Syracuse to Saratoga. The 60-foot rowing shell required most of the team to take it off the trailer. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

Rowers and coxswains alike work to rig the boats with the equipment to hold the oars. Syracuse competed with six boats in five races Saturday. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

Before taking to the water, head coach Luke McGee pulled the team into a circle, speaking about the regatta’s expectations and facing one of the top-three teams in the country. 

“Sometimes it can be a little bit boat-specific,” McGee said. “You can just focus on making your own boat go as fast as you possibly can…trying to set the result aside a little bit and have a little bit of confidence.’”

Each boat took to the water to get a warm-up row in before breaking for lunch. Between its warm-up and the first race, the team relaxed, mentally preparing for the competition. 

“For us, when it comes to race day the worst thing we can do is change who we are,” Aphrodite Gioulekas said. “We like to be really authentic and carry our attitudes and our interesting personalities because keeping things the same is so important.”

The team focuses on keeping things consistent on race day, Gioulekas said, by running the same warm-ups as it does in practice at the SU boathouse. 

The team prepares for the competition by running through the races ahead of time. Second varsity 8 coxswain Louise Rath wrote notes to go in her watertight bag. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

The team carries the shells overhead as it makes its way back to the boathouse after its warm-up row. Each boat took a practice lap down the race course to get acclimated with the water at Fish Creek. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

“The main thing is just being focused on our own performance. There isn’t too much that we can do, really, in this sport that affects your competitors,” McGee said. 

Similar to the rest of the team, Murphy sets aside at least 10 minutes for herself before every competition, braiding her hair and running through every possibility of what could happen in the regatta. 

With the clock ticking down to the start of the races, each boat met with its coach to have a quick team meeting. During this time, McGee said they focus on how the boats can individually perform their best.  

Each boat dropped into the water and launched off the dock while the remaining teammates on shore cheered them on. Every school had a specific chant before the boats took off. Gioulekas referred to Syracuse’s as a “war cry.” 

Members of the crew not racing cheer their teammates on from the docks at Fish Creek. Echos of the “what color was the blood?” chant was heard all along the water’s edge. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

As part of the pre-race tradition, members of the crew on the water make an “O” with their arms. The symbol represents “Orange” in response to the question “what color was the blood?”. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

As the boats pushed away from the dock, the team yelled “C-U-S-E! Let’s go ‘Cuse! Let’s go Orange! Let’s go Orange! What color was the blood?” while the occupants of the boat in the water put their arms up in an “O” shouting “Orange” in response. 

The Orange placed in all five races on Saturday, beating Cornell but falling to Yale. Murphy said Syracuse doesn’t dwell on the losses and continues to look forward and learn from each race. 

After the regatta, the team derigged each boat, bagged them and strapped them to the trailer before boarding the bus back to Syracuse. As soon as the bus stopped in Syracuse, the team got back to work preparing for the next race, Gioulekas said. 

“We just take it, we let the emotion sit in and then go from there,” Gioulekas said. “The race is done and it’s back to the training rooms.”