ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca sculling and sweep teams joined forces for the final race of the fall season. The Cornell Autumn Classic is held on our very own Cayuga Inlet and consists of two rounds of head racing. The Cornell Heavyweight men hosted Syracuse while Ithaca faced Hamilton.  The two-race format allows teams to experiment with different lineups, and both IC and Hamilton took advantage of the opportunity to make swaps & gather information to inform future lineups.
 
For the first round Hamilton offered a 1v, 2v and Frosh 8+ as competition, so the Bombers sent a 1v, 2v, Frosh/Novice 8+ and 3v 8+ to match. Unexpectedly flat water allowed racing to cover a 4k course from the lower inlet out onto the lake. As is typical on our home course, the protected water near the start opened into bouncier water as the course went on.
 
The Ithaca 1V with lineup Kaelyn Morandi (cox), Samantha Gallagher, Emmeline Robinson, Anna Capodilupo, Julia DiCostanzo, Kai Lincke, Alexandra Catlin, Emma Thorne, and Hope Oliveira started the day off for the squad. They fought hard down the inlet trying to hold off Hamilton, but were overtaken in the lake stretch of the course. The Bombers put up a time of 15:50.5, with Hamilton coming in at 15:31.1.
 
The 2V lineup of Cameron Silberman (cox), Stella Kartsonas, Kate March, Claire Edwards, Calla Bobak, Jasmina Vahle, Melanie Heim, Carys Owen, and Ava Connor also had trouble holding off the Continentals. The Bombers finished with a time of 16:38.7 to Hamilton's 15:56.4
 
In the Frosh/Novice 8+ Ithaca's Sofia Bullrich (cox), Julia Sweet, Annoura Stewart, Christina Cox, Lauren Huber, Mya Veracka, Maeve Van Jura, Carly Hanlin, and Jamie Friedlander posted a 17:39.8. to finish behind the 17:09.0 posted by Hamilton's novices. Ithaca's 3v of Payton Fisch (cox), Bryanna Mendoza Arias, Sarah Chraibi, Maisie Sagaas, Emily Murphy, Emma Rosenthal, Naomi Bozenski, Katherine Sernick, and Brandi Landis put their experience to work & bested their younger counterparts, covering the course in 17:00.6.
 
For round 2, Hamilton only sent 1v and 2v lineups back out to race, and the Bombers rearranged personnel to send 3 8+s down the course. A pair of rowers swapped between the 1v and 2v, and the 3v incorporated select athletes from the F/N lineup to try to strengthen their position. By this second race, the wind had picked up significantly, so the course was shortened from 4k to 3300 meters, and all crews battled extra chop and resistance in the final stretch of racing.
 
The Ithaca 1V, this time with lineup Kaelyn Morandi (cox), Samantha Gallagher, Emmeline Robinson, Anna Capodilupo, Julia DiCostanzo, Kai Lincke, Claire Edwards, Kate March, and Hope Oliveira swung back hard against the wind putting up a time of 13:59.2. The new 2v arrangement of Cameron Silberman (cox), Stella Kartsonas, Emma Thorne, Alexandra Catlin, Calla Bobak, Jasmina Vahle, Melanie Heim, Carys Owen, and Ava Connor, posted a time of 14:43.4, and the 3v, now with Payton Fisch (cox), Maisie Sagaas, Sarah Chraibi, Mya Veracka, Emily Murphy, Bryanna Mendoza Arias, Annoura Stewart, Carly Hanlin, and Lauren Huber covered the course in 15:25.9.  Hamilton's Continentals proved themselves worthy opponents, however, and won the round with a 1v time of 13:35.6, and the 2v just barely edging out the Bomber 2v in 14:40.6.
 
With more focused time in sweep lineups under their belt, the Bomber men had a more dominant run against the Continentals, winning the majority of their matchups.  You can read more about their racing here.  Complete results can be found here.
 
With fall racing concluded, head coach Beth Greene expressed optimism about the next phase of team training. 
 
"It's hard for teammates to feel connected when we have athletes practicing as Sweep & Sculling squads. There's so much potential for competition between boats this year - I'm excited to integrate the squad & watch as they push & bond with each other through the winter."