Last Saturday all three  Mercyhurst rowing teams traveled to Cleveland to take part in their first race of the Fall season at the Head of the Cuyahoga. Mercyhurst entered six boats in five different events and had every boat claim gold or silver.

The first event, was the open men's 8+ that saw Mercyhurst enter two crews which finished first and second respectively. Mercyhurst's 1st Varsity VIII took the win in 15 minutes and 20 seconds, the fastest time of the day. Their next best competition was the 2nd Varsity VIII which came in just 10 seconds behind them over the 5k course. Only one other crew, Western Reserve, managed to complete the course in under 16 minutes.

In the women's open 4+, the Lakers came in 2nd behind Case Western Reserve University. They had a solid race over the 5km course rating 30 strokes a minute throughout the race. Case Western's top boat proved too fast and the Lakers ended up finishing just over 20 seconds behind Case Western.

Making their debut for Mercyhurst was the open men's novice 8+, comprised entirely of freshman. They were the clear winners of the race as they won with the largest margin of the day, over 4 and a half minutes.

The next women's crew to represent the Lakers was the women's open 8+ which managed to turn the tables and finish in gold, over a minute and a half ahead of Case Western. They dominated the event with a great row that saw them comfortably in the lead.

Finishing the day was the open men's 4+ which again faced good competition from Case Western. In one of the tighter finishes of the day the Mercyhurst Lakers came out with a win of 12 seconds in a time of 17:55 over the crew from Case Western finishing in 18:07.