HAMILTON — Colgate men's rowing opens its fall season Sunday, traveling to Boston for the Head of the Charles.

The Raiders have a fairly new team this year but are looking to build off of the success from the 2023-24 season.

"We have a very young group of guys right now with a lot of first-years. We have some optimism in how the season will go, and we have been putting in some good work this fall," said assistant coach Eric Summers.

Colgate will race its varsity eight and varsity four boats at the Head of the Charles, a regatta that's always an exciting one for the team.

"Our athletes love going to Boston. We have a lot of alumni in the area, and it's great to get their support," Summers said.

Last season at the Head of the Charles, Colgate's 1V8 finished eighth out of 42 boats, posting a time of 15:43.261. It marked the Raiders' second straight top-10 finish at the event.

Colgate used that as fuel for the remainder of the fall season, with the 1V8 taking fourth out of 21 at the Head of the Schuylkill before placing eighth out of 35 at the Princeton Chase.

During the spring championship season, the varsity eight placed fourth at the Knecht Cup, recording a time of 5:59.57. Colgate's second varsity four earned a silver medal at the regatta, crossing the finish line in 7:06.52.
At the SIRA Championship Regatta, the Raiders 1V8 came in fourth, posting a time of 5:57.900. The 1V4 also competed at the SIRAs, finishing seventh overall after winning the second-level final with a time of 6:59.671.

Colgate ended the season with one of its best finishes in program history at the IRA National Championship, taking fourth place. The Raiders posted a time of 06:22.286, defeating defending national champion California by less than a second and Brown by three seconds in the A Final. It marked the first time a boat has finished in the top six since 2019 when the varsity eight placed sixth.

Colgate will compete two more times this fall following its trip to Boston. The Raiders head to Philadelphia Oct. 26 for the Head of the Schuylkill then wraps up the action Nov. 3 at the Princeton Chase.