Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

The Orange earned a No. 3 national ranking in the first Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association/Intercollegiate Rowing Association men’s heavyweight poll to open the season. The last two seasons, Syracuse has finished in the top five at the IRA Championships.

In last year’s Grand Final, Syracuse finished fifth, tying the best in head coach Dave Reischman’s tenure. The Orange return all eight oarsmen and their coxswain from last year’s varsity 8 this spring. 

In the fall, Syracuse won the collegiate championship at the Head of the Charles Regatta, its best finish in program history. In the team’s only other fall regatta, SU won the Princeton Chase, finishing ahead of Princeton in both the varsity 8 three-mile chase and in the 4+ regatta.

The Orange open their season with a preseason scrimmage with No. 19 Colgate on April 1 at the James A. Ten Eyck Memorial Boathouse on Onondaga Lake. The following weekend, the team travels to Redwood Shores, California to open the season in the Pac 12 Challenge on April 8 and 9. They’ll face defending champions No. 1 California as well as No. 7 Northeastern and No. 10 Wisconsin.

Syracuse’s schedule also includes No. 12 Cornell and No. 15 Navy, competing on April 15 for the Goes Trophy. The Orange also race against No. 7 Dartmouth, No. 11 Boston and No. 22 Georgetown April 29 and 30 at the Lake Morey Invite.