Long after most students left campus for the summer, the men’s and women’s crews capped off strong 2003 seasons with solid performances in the IRA championships and Eastern Sprints, respectively. Additionally, three members of the women’s varsity eight were honored by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association for their performances this past spring.
The Cornell women placed fifth overall at the Eastern Sprints on May 18, collecting 50 total points. Radcliffe won the Willing Point Trophy with 61 points, while Brown took second with 60.
The Red won the petite finals, finishing in 7:00.10, over seven seconds ahead of Penn. The novice eight also won the petite finals, finishing in 7:16.60.
Meanwhile, Cornell’s top performer was the second novice eight, which placed second in the grand finals in 7:30.50. The Red gave first-place Wisconsin fits throughout the race, finishing just six seconds behind. Ivy rival Dartmouth placed third in 7:42.85.
The second varsity eight also performed well in the grand finals, finishing fourth in 7:24.30.
At the IRA championships, the men’s crews remained among the leaders of the field, but not without a few challenges.
The heavyweights encountered a tough field in their initial heat, but later rebounded. They finished sixth in the grand finals.
The varsity lightweights finished fourth, but members are focused on a different number — 1.8 — the time difference between them and No. 3 Georgetown.
“We were a little bit disappointed,” admitted commodore Chris Bender. “It was such a great race. You couldn’t have expected more.”
Cornell’s freshman eight took the top spot in the petite final, while the lightweight varsity eight took the top spot in heat No. 2. Other top boats for Cornell included the varsity and freshman fours, which each placed fist in the third level final.
On June 10, nearly a month after the rowing season had ended for the Red, three women received Mid-Atlantic honors.
Juniors Siobhan Steyn and Kelly Neuman were selected to the first team, while fellow junior Amelia Siani earned a spot on the second team. The trio was just a part of the women’s varsity eight, which finished the season seventh at Easterns and 5-6 overall.
Siani, a biology major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, also earned a scholar-athlete selection. To be eligible, a student must have at least a 3.5 grade point average or higher during the fall semester of the current season.
Archived article by Owen Bochner