April 13, 2001

Crews Look to Boost National Rankings

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The men’s lightweight crew will look to continue its ascent up the national rankings with a crucial engagement with Ivy foe Princeton and up and coming Rutgers on Cayuga Inlet tomorrow.

The Red is currently seeded No. 9 nationally and a pair of wins against powerhouses No. 4 Princeton and No. 8 Rutgers would help its cause for lane seedings come season’s end.

“Every race is important because we are trying to outseed other teams,” junior Scott Triolo noted.

Cornell will be particularly challenged by the two squad’s speed.

“Princeton and Rutgers are going to be fast,” Triolo observed.

A talented but relatively inexperienced corps of eight will be charged with the task of keeping up with the boats.

Junior Joe Kiely will be stroking and behind him will be sophomores Ben Metcalfe, Nafis Smith and Mike Cody, juniors Triolo and Jon Zelken and seniors Bernie Murphy and Simon Saddleton.

Murphy sees the team’s youth as a one of its most prized assets.

“It makes our chances of improvement great,” the senior explained.

A common theme of the team in recent days has been increased cohesion.

“We have been starting to become a crew,” Triolo noted.

The sentiments were shared across the team.

“We have been strong several positive practices together,” Murphy affirmed.

The heavyweights look to continue their winning ways after a triumph over Georgetown last weekend at Princeton. Despite a decline in finish times, the squad was able to move to a 2-0 mark and looks to remain unblemished tomorrow when it faces eastern rival Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights are No. 20 in the nation and should be well within the reach of the talent-ladden No. 12 Cornell.

After a disappointing weekend that saw its varsity boats fall to host Syracuse and Ancient Eight foe Yale, the women rowers look to improve upon their 1-2 mark with races against Princeton, winners of the Head of the Charles and Radcliffe.

Both should prove to be formidable opponents for the homeside. The visitors are No. 4 and No. 6 respectively, while the Red is still looking to break into the national rankings.

Archived article by Gary Schueller