ITHACA, N.Y.--In its first race of the spring season, the Hobart varsity eight defeated the lightweight eight from Cornell, but fell to Ithaca College in a tightly contested race on the Cayuga Inlet.

The Statesmen covered the 2,000-meter course in a time of 6:22.0, two tenths of a second ahead of the Big Red. Ithaca pulled away from Hobart in the final 500 meters to win the race in 6:20.0.

The Statesmen will return to action on March 30, in the Cayuga Inlet, squaring off against boats from the universities of Michigan and Massachusets.