The 2002-03 season is the start of a new era for the women's rowing team. With the graduation of 12 seniors last spring, SU ended a period which saw the rowing team rise to become one of the nation's elite programs with three consecutive trips to the NCAA Championship, including the Orangewomen's first team bid last spring in Indianapolis, Ind.
"We are looking to go to the next level, which hopefully means getting a boat in the medals at the NCAA," coach Kris Sanford said.
Here is a look at SU's history in the NCAA Championship.
The NCAA championship brings together the best teams from across the country. The format changed for the 2002 championship. This past spring, 12 schools competed for the team title (varsity eight, junior varsity eight and varsity four). Four schools also received at-large bids in the varsity eight to complete the 16-boat field. For the first five years of the championship, 10 schools competed for the team championship, while nine schools received at-large bids to fill out a 19-team field for the varsity eight championship.
Syracuse's varsity eight earned an at-large bid to the inaugural NCAA championship in 1997, hosted by California State University - Sacramento. In 1998, the championship was held on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga., the same waterway that was used for the 1996 Olympics. In 1999, the NCAA Rowing Championship moved back to the California State University - Sacramento Aquatic Center. In 2000, the Orangewomen returned to the NCAA Championship, making their second championship appearance at the Cooper River Park in Camden, N.J. The SU varsity eight finished ninth in New Jersey.
In 2001, Syracuse's varsity eight earned the school's third at-large, and second consecutive, NCAA championship bid. The championship was hosted by the University of Central Florida and held on Lake Lanier in Georgia.
At the NCAA championship, Syracuse finished second in its heat to make the semifinal. The Orangewomen finished four-tenths of a second behind Princeton for third place and a spot in the grand final. It was the first time in SU history that a boat made the national championship grand finals. After the semifinal race and before the grand final, Syracuse sophomores Shannon Mercurio and Seana Miller won their spares heat by a by more than nine seconds. SU's varsity eight finished sixth in the grand final, the best-ever NCAA finish in school history.
Syracuse received its first team bid to the NCAA Championship in 2002 after defending its BIG EAST title and placing fifth at Eastern Sprints. The National Collegiate Women's Rowing Championship was held on the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Ind on May 31 - June 2. It marked the first time that the NCAA championship was held in the Midwest.
In the top eights, Syracuse rowed to a fourth-place finish in its heat. The Orangewomen competed against defending national champion Washington, who crossed the finish line first. The Orangewomen beat out Washington State and Michigan State to advance to the repecharge. Syracuse was sixth in both its second eights and fours heats. Both boats advanced to the semifinals.
On the final day of competition, the Syracuse top eight and fours each finished fifh in their respective petite finals. The SU second eight finished sixth in its petite finals race. The Orangewomen finished 12th overall in the Division I trophy results with 13 points.
"It was great to be invited as a team," said Kris Sanford about the trip to the NCAA Championship. "It showed that we have speed but we also have depth. To be able to say we are a top 12 crew is great, but I want to say we are a top 10 team."