With memories of the warm Georgia weather lingering after Spring Break and disappointing scenes of a very frozen Lake Moraine, the men and women of the Raider crew teams took to Lake Cayuga Inlet shoulder-to-shoulder with Ithaca College last weekend. This horizontal juxtaposition was only temporary, though; Raider crews took quick leads on each of its opponents, crossing the line first in most of the races on the day.

The men’s team swept the series with definitive victories in all four contested categories. In the Varsity 8 event, Colgate surged ahead of the Ithaca men and extended their lead to an 11-second margin at the finish line. Rowing the Varsity 8 was juniors Tom Leonard and coxswain Brenna O’Rourke, sophomores Matt Inbusch, Peter Engebretson, Bryan Pape, Andrew Hatzenbuhler, Doug Herling and Brad Ernst, and first-year Eddie Gastel. The team is young, but strong and talented; they will only continue on an upward trend in years to come.

Furthermore, the men had no problem with the Varsity 4 event, taking the top two places with times of 7:25 and 7:39 respectively, while Ithaca’s top four finished 20 seconds later. The second Varsity 4 event, staffed mostly by Colgate first-years, held a similar result. The Raiders placed first and second, leaving Ithaca behind by a fair distance. Rounding out the day, the men’s Novice 8 finished with an open water lead on two solid Ithaca crews.

The Raider women also fared favorably, taking line honors in three events. The Varsity 8 rowed strongly and confidently in their duel with the Bomber women, finishing a definitive eight seconds ahead. The winning combination consisted of seniors Maureen Lynch, Rebecca Sachs-Oppenheim, Jane Hornickel, Sarah Howie and Jessie Slenker, junior Lindsay Hochman, sophomores Caitlyn Perlman and Ande Reisman, and first-year Catie Moore. This group of mostly upperclassmen has been improving steadily over recent years, especially with the addition of head coach Greg Kruczynski in the fall of 2004. The Raider second and third Varsity 8 crews came away victorious, winning their races by seven and nine seconds, respectively. The Varsity 4 came up short, finishing between two strong Ithaca crews. The Novice women also had a tough day of racing, finishing second to the Bombers in both First and Second Novice 8 events.

“Kicking off the season with Ithaca was an excellent opportunity to affirm for the team that this is our season,” explained sophomore bow-seat Ande Reisman. “This race has gotten us fired up for a challenging but exciting season with an excellent crew.”

Overall, the Raider crews raced very well, posting a good start to what looks to be a promising season. As the weather is begins to warm and Lake Moraine finally begins to thaw, the men and women of Colgate Rowing are already running on all cylinders. The Raiders next travel to Rome for a scrimmage race with Hamilton College on Saturday. From there, the Colgate women will continue to New York City to race with Holy Cross and UMass at the New York Athletic Club in Pelham.