The men’s crew hosted the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology yesterday on Cayuga Inlet, winning five of its six races.

After beginning the season with a strong victory in the varsity 8 against Hobart College on March 31, the Bombers were looking forward to returning to competition despite very strong winds on the inlet.

Head Coach Dan Robinson said that the wind made the races considerably more difficult for the Blue and Gold, especially in terms of mentality.

“Halfway through the race you think you’re going really slow and can’t possibly be doing anything in the wind,” he said. “But every other team is having the same situation, so you have to be mentally tough and pull harder.”

Sophomore Chris Noble, who rows in the first varsity 8, said that while the conditions were challenging, the team has become familiar with rowing in this type of weather during practices on the inlet.

“We’ve been rowing in very difficult, windy conditions for the past couple weeks, and that’s taught us a lot and helped us to come out ahead.”

The first varsity 8 continued its winning ways from last week, finishing with a time of 7:01.6 to RIT’s 7:14.1. The second varsity 8 boat cruised to a 16 second victory against Rochester, with a time of 7:22.9.

The third varsity 8 boat won its race against Rochester by nearly a minute, taking a 7:42 to 8:40 victory, while the novice 8A boat also defeated Rochester with a time of 7:44.43 to 8:28.83.

The varsity 4 boat narrowly won its race, posting a time of 8:20.2 against second-place Rochester’s 8:25.8. The novice 4 boat was the team’s only loss of the day, as it came in with a time of 9:06.62, 30 seconds behind RIT.

Even with the team’s current success, sophomore Erik Frid, who rows in the first varsity 8, said it’s essential for the Blue and Gold to stay focused as they move forward into the heart of the season.

“It’s important that we go into next week’s race seriously, but also it’s important that we keep the intensity up for next week’s practice and the week after that because in two weeks we’ll be racing against Trinity, and the week after that Williams,” he said. “Those are two of the top teams we’ll race this year. These next two weeks of practice are incredibly important.”

The South Hill squad returns to competition Saturday against Skidmore College and St. Lawrence University at 11 a.m. on Cayuga Inlet.