ITHACA, NY – The Skidmore College men's and women's rowing teams opened the spring season by traveling to Ithaca to compete in the Cayuga Duals on Sunday.
 
Originally scheduled for a home dual meet against Vassar, the team was able to reschedule and compete at Ithaca. On the men's side, the competition included #10 Ithaca, #11 Hamilton, and Hobart College. On the women's side, racing included #8 Ithaca, #9 William Smith, and #10 Hamilton. Racing conditions were in the mid-40s with moderate tailwinds that decreased throughout the day.
 
WOMEN'S RACES
With a late injury, the crews were forced to make lineup changes right before racing. First-year Amalia Inhofe was pulled up from the 2V and placed in the 4 seat of the 1V. Returners Camilla Johnson and Delaney Miller were the stern pair. Ollie Bronson and Senior Captain Norah Jankey sat in the 6 and 5 seats. 2V contributors from the 2025 campaign—Charlotte Taylor, Ava Holthoff, coxswain Cam High, and Grady Vermilye—made their 1V debuts.
 
The first race was against Hamilton, with Hamilton taking the win, 7:06 to 7:13. The second varsity 8+ also faced off against Hamilton, with Hamilton taking the win, 7:13.4 to 7:45.5. Brie Chricco, Nicolette Kirwan, Sophia Peterson, Harper Staton-Todaro, Madison Lofmark, Gracie Schuham-Anders, Ava Hammond, Charlotte Visger, and Lila Glanville represented the Thoroughbreds.
 
In the afternoon, the crews went down the course a second time. The 1V faced Ithaca, with Ithaca taking the win, 7:13 to 7:23. In the women's 2V race, the Thoroughbreds fell to the Bombers, 7:32 to 7:44.
 
"I'm so impressed at our team's ability to pick up a race mid-week, compete, and come away with improvements over the course of the day," said Senior Captain Norah Jankey. "It's super exciting to compete with some tough teams this early on in the season, and I think the team is walking away hungry."
 
MEN'S RACES
The men started their day with a close loss to Hamilton. Hayden Harlow, Will Landro, Charles Ertz, Thomas du Four, Sam van Adrichem Boogaert, Henry Shannon, Van de Venecia, Kal Katz, and Grant Steinberger went down the course in 6:11.7, with Hamilton finishing in 6:08.5.
 
The men's 2V came away with an early-season upset, taking down Hamilton, 6:30 to 6:36. With an oar clash about 250 meters into the race, the Thoroughbreds were able to regain composure and come away with the win. Isadora Fuller, Hudson Till, Nestor Martinez, Andrew Bertucci, Dimitri Moschochoritis, Joe Papaccio, Riley Mook, Felix Kissel, and Kieran Jenkins earned Skidmore's sole win of the day.
 
In the afternoon, the men's 1V faced off against the Ithaca College Bombers, losing by about 16 seconds. The men's 2V faced Hobart and lost that dual, 6:08 to 6:57.
 
"The story of this weekend was a multitude of good moments paired with an equal amount of underwhelming moments. We now have a good baseline and look forward to getting back to work and finding a way to prevail from this challenging weekend," said senior Grant Steinberger. "If there is something to note about this group, it is our resilience. We will be back for a rematch against Hamilton in two weeks and look forward to competing after some improvements. Stay tuned!"
 
FROM HEAD COACH MANNY VALENTIN
"How you psychologically prepare for a dual at home—with a single trip down the course against an unranked opponent—and how you prepare for two 2Ks on the road against nationally ranked competition are different," said Coach Manny Valentin.
 
"I am really proud of the team for their willingness to test themselves against really hard competition. Throw in lineup changes on the women's side, and it was truly an uphill battle. Regardless of the results, we learned a ton about ourselves this weekend—where our strengths are, where our weaknesses are, and how we will need to continue to improve over the next five weeks. While we still have work to do, I like where we are to start the season."
 
UP NEXT
Next week, Skidmore hosts the Skidmore Sprints, with Williams (W), Wellesley (W), Bryn Mawr (W), and Franklin and Marshall (M/W) coming to town. Racing will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be live-streamed on Instagram. At 2 p.m., the team will christen its newest shell, the John Onderdonk '89.