A second can make a difference between a win and a loss. This is a painful lesson the women’s crew learned last year when its two varsity 8 boats competed at the NCAA Championship in Oakridge, Tenn., and failed to medal by .44 seconds.

This is a disappointment the Bombers said they are determined not to repeat.

“That close race has really pushed the team to training extra hard and performing at their optimal level this year,” senior Steffanie McKay said. “We have started the season out strong, and we are definitely farther ahead than where we were last year at this [point].”

Head Coach Becky Robinson, who has led the Bombers to national championships in 2004 and 2005, said the team has been improving steadily.

“[They’re working on] their smooth release to increase boat run and efficiency, catch to slide timing to get the entry of the blade in as quick and direct as possible and to make the boat move faster when they crew collectively and then keep the momentum through the race,” Robinson said.

At the end of last season, the varsity team finished sixth at the NCAAs and was ranked fifth overall. The varsity 8 team, at 7–2 overall, is ranked fifth nationally.

This past weekend, the team was in Massachusetts on Lake Quinsigamond racing against Connecticut College, Tufts University, the College of the Holy Cross and Colby College. Ithaca won the varsity 8, third varsity 8 and novice 8 races.

“We should be back at the NCAA Championship this year,” Robinson said. “We are the only Division III team to attend every championship since 2002.”

The bigger boats consist of eight rowers and a coxswain. When the weather permits, the team trains from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. six days a week on Cayuga Inlet, with five days devoted to practice and one day to racing. During the fall and spring, the team shares the lake with the Cornell University Crew, Cascadilla Boat Club, canoers and kayakers. When ice is on the lake, the team trains three to four days a week indoors at the boathouse.

In addition to rowing, training includes ergometers, running on land, using weights at the Hill Center and using tanks at Cornell, senior Sara Cleary said.

“We are hoping to get some space on campus for our ergometers and possibly a rowing center that has an indoor rowing tanks and training space,” Robinson said.

This year, the Bombers received new boats.

“[They have a] variety of shells ranging from eights to fours to doubles to singles,” McKay said.

In the fall, the Bombers usually compete in two away races — one in Rochester, N.Y., and one in Philadelphia. If the team qualifies, it will then compete in the Head of the Charles race in Boston. In the spring there are more competitions, including three races on the Cayuga Inlet; one race in Worcester, Mass.; one in Pittsfield, Mass.; the New York State Championships in Whitney Point, N.Y.; and the ECAC National Invitational Regatta in Worcester, Mass., on May 3 and 4. The two top women’s varsity 8s then compete at the NCAA race, which this year will be held in Sacramento, Calif.  

Camaraderie and teamwork are hallmarks of this year’s team.

“The team is a large group of dedicated girls working towards the same ultimate goal,” Cleary said. “We believe in each other and our strength and that is what makes the team what it is.”

“Crew has been the most influential sport in my life,” McKay said. “I never thought that something could change my life the way crew has. It is a sport where you can take what you learn from being on a close team to your every day activities.”

McKay said the sport has the ability to take her mind off all other stresses in her life.

“Being on the water is the one time and place where you can forget everything else going on in life,” McKay said. “As I tell my girls, once you step in the boat, leave everything else on the dock behind you.”

This year, the Bombers have done just that, leaving everything behind — except the desire to bring home a third national championship in the past five years.