They were so close they could see the rowers in La Salle’s boat, and they weren’t ending this race in any place except first.

“I’m at their three-seat,” shouted Lisa Olynk, a senior English major and coxswain for Binghamton University’s varsity crew team. “Let’s get our lead back now, power 10 on two!”

And with that, Binghamton’s women’s varsity eight crew pulled ahead of its competition and continued to increase its lead on La Salle’s eight this past Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, Pa. Finishing with a time of 7:09, BU’s women’s open eight crew team won first place out of five boats and received gold medals for their efforts.

BU’s crew team spent this past weekend at the Frostbite and Braxton regattas in Philadelphia. These two regattas are a tradition for BU to go to; the first was a 2-kilometer race on Saturday, and the latter was a 1,500-meter sprint on Sunday. Although BU crew is a club sport on campus, the squad competes against Division 1 varsity teams at these regattas, and every year the squad continues to prove its strength and development.

“It felt so good to win,” said co-captain Sara Lizzul. “Although we won last year, we were placed in a more competitive heat this year, and winning just felt that much better because we were competing against stronger teams.”

BU’s crew team, which has grown exponentially since its 1989 inception, now has around 80 members, including coaches. The team practices daily on the Susquehanna River, starting practice at 5:30 a.m. For many on the team, practice doesn’t just end at 8 a.m. Most athletes do secondary workouts, including running, ergging and weight lifting, in order to maximize their potential to be the best.

In recent years, the team collectively decided to increase the intensity and agreed with coaches to have more difficult and concentrated practices. With this mind-set, the team has become stronger and more powerful.

The women’s varsity eight is a prime example of how hard work can pay off. This group of eight rowers and their coxswain (the athlete who steers the boat) all took it upon themselves to take crew more seriously and to devote more time and energy to the sport.

“We wanted the girls to keep journals of the second workouts they did,” said Jocelyn Siuta, also co-captain. “In that way, we could see how our teammates were building their endurance and strength in preparation for upcoming races, as well as use the workouts that others did as motivation to push ourselves.”

The women’s varsity eight competed against La Salle, Fairfield, Scranton and Wilkes during their 2-kilometer race. Each race of both regattas had between three and six teams racing, depending on the turnout of rowers; every team that placed first in their race received a medal. The other BU teams, the men’s varsity and novice squads and the women’s varsity four and novice squads, were strong in their races as well.

The Frostbite and Braxton Regattas are bittersweet for BU’s crew team, as they represent the last two water races of the fall semester and the start of winter training.

Crew is a year-round commitment. If it interests you, check out their Web site at www.binghamtoncrew.org. The team’s winter training begins after winter break; come and work out with them if you’re interested!