GW last played Georgetown in basketball 26 years ago. But the epic rivalry lives on through other sports.

The most recent chapter in the Colonials/Hoyas battle took place Sunday in a neutral zone – the Thompson Boat Center on the Potomac River, a space used by both rowing teams.

In an annual event now known as the “the Duel,” the Colonials did not fare well this or the past three years. And Sunday, on the glassy waters of the Potomac, GW lost every race except for the novice event.

“I have an immense amount of respect for Georgetown,” coach Greg Myhr wrote in an e-mail. “Due to our proximity and our history, we have a very good, cooperative relationship with them, and our athletes all know each other quite well. This, of course, also makes our annual race very competitive – in many respects, it’s almost a sibling-type rivalry.”

But despite regattas and rivalries with its Northwest neighbor, GW and other D.C. rowing teams face harsh winters. So they are forced indoors, and the primary measure of strength comes from exercise machines.

“Georgetown is just a little bit faster in terms of water speed and they have guys that produce a little bit better erg scores than we do and that translates to being a little bit faster on the water,” senior Joe DeLeo said.

“Erg,” short for ergometer, is a stationary machine used to simulate rowing. Its name translates literally as a “measurer of work.”

And in a sport where speed is everything, a little work goes a long way.

It’s common to see the team on these machines rowing furiously atop the steps of Funger Hall on G Street, but the erg emblemizes much more than a winter workout.

Erg times gave the team a boost in a friendly triathlon staged between the GW rowing, swimming and cross-country teams this past fall, when the rowers took the overall best team score.

The erg measured the meters over which the team rowed to raise money for both regular team fundraising and Habitat for Humanity, part of an annual event that includes a day of building homes in D.C.

And most importantly, GW rowers must go back and re-measure their times on the erg each year to retain a spot on the squad.

For a team comprised of mostly novices, sheer work proves one’s worth.

Junior Erik Bergmann said he thinks one of the team’s strengths is its depth. But that depth also requires team members to compete against each other to remain rowers.

And the work is paying off, to an extent.

While the men’s team is improving, nearing the end of their second season in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC), the Colonials have yet to win in this league.

“As the newest members of the EARC, we’re in a building mode – pushing as hard as we can to be competitive at this level. We’re currently holding our own at the lower level of the league, and we’re taking steps to elevate what we’re capable of,” Myhr said. “That said, as a coach, I’m very impatient to see results, and this impatience can make it easy to get frustrated and to overlook the small but real markers of success that we’re seeing.”

But the players see it more simply.

Bergmann said, “Until you win it all every year in a row, you’re never good enough.”