May 15, 2016

Coach Bohrer Interview | Results

Worcester, Mass. - Highlighted by two bronze medal victories and a fifth-place overall team finish, the Boston University men's rowing team competed at the Eastern Sprints on Sunday at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.

The day was highlighted by the second varsity eight's performance in the 2V grand final. Seeded No. 5 coming into the regatta, the Terriers battled from behind to overtake Yale and then Brown at the finish line to win bronze in dramatic fashion. Harvard and Princeton jumped out to an early lead in the race as BU battled with Yale and Brown for third over the first 1000 meters. Coxed by senior Maggie Read and stroked by junior Aleksandar Marinkovski, BU's 2V pulled away from Yale with 500 meters to go and was bow to bow with Brown at the finish. BU finished with a time of 5:53.0 to edged Brown (5:53.3) by .3 seconds and win bronze. Harvard took home gold (5:48.6) while Princeton won silver (5:48.9).

The victory was the second bronze medal of the regatta for the Terriers who also won bronze in the 5V8 race. On the day, BU was one of only three schools, along with Harvard and Princeton, to have a boat in all 5 grand finals in heavyweight eights racing.

"It think overall we have expectations for the team and one of them every year is to have all our boats in the finals," said Boston University's head men's rowing coach Thomas Bohrer. "We have been able to do for the past four years and it is a big accomplishment. At the same point when we do that we want to feel like we were able to race for medals and be relevant in every race. I think we were able to do that today."

BU's varsity eight boat advanced to the grand finals after a successful morning heat race. Coxed by sophomore MacKenzie Hart and stroked by sophomore Max Ponsen, the 1V finished a very close second to Princeton in its morning heat. The V8 finished with a time 5:49.9 behind winner Princeton (5:48.2) and well ahead of Syracuse (5:55.9) Penn (5:58.6), George Washington (6:00.6) and Holy Cross (6:12.0) to move on to the grand final.

In the final race of the day, the varsity eight grand final, BU went up against Yale, Princeton, Brown, Harvard and Cornell. Yale got out to a fast start and established an early lead. The Bulldogs were followed by Princeton and Yale with Brown following closely at the 1000 meter mark. Yale did not relinquish the lead and finished first with a time of 5:37.4, winning the heavyweight title for the second-consecutive year. Princeton finished second (5:39.8), followed by Brown (5:40.6). Harvard finished fourth (5:42.5) while Cornell was fifth (5:43.7) and BU sixth (5:47.4).

With the sixth-place finish in the grand finals, BU earned nine Row Cup points to finish with 27 team points on the day, good for fifth place out of the field of 18 teams. Princeton won the Eastern Sprints Rowe Cup team title for the second-consecutive year after earning 37 points, followed by Harvard with 35 points, Brown (31) and Yale (30).

After a very successful morning of heat races in which all of BU's boats advanced to the grand finals for the fourth consecutive year, the Terriers earned their first medal of the day in their first race of the afternoon, the fifth varsity grand final.

The BU fifth varsity eight competed in a finals race that did not have a morning heat qualifier. BU's 5V, coxed by sophomore Jeanne Garner and stroked by senior Rajagopal Srinivas, came from behind to pass Cornell over the final 500 meters to finish third with a time of 6:06.2, behind first-place Navy (6:00.4) and second-place Wisconsin (6:01.2) earning the Terriers a bronze medal.

Next up was BU's fourth varsity eight competing in the 4V grand final. Princeton jumped out to an early lead with Harvard, BU and Cornell battling for second and third over the first 1000 meters. Princeton extended their lead to open water and cruised to victory with a time of 5:59.8 with Harvard finishing second (6:02.3). Cornell separated from BU in the final 100 meters to finish third with a time of 6:04.1 while BU was fourth (6:08.1) ahead of Brown (6:10.7) in fifth.

The Terriers' third varsity eight boat, coxed by freshman Sean Dooling and stroked by sophomore TJ Ruijgh, also advanced to the grand finals where it took on Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Brown and Wisconsin. After a very even start over the first 500 meters, Princeton began to pull ahead followed by Harvard and Brown. BU and Cornell challenged Brown for third place over the final 500 meters but the Terriers finished fifth with a time of 6:02.2. Princeton won gold with a time of 5:53.5 followed by Harvard in second (5:54.6), Brown in third (5:56.5) and Cornell if fourth (5:56.8). BU's 3V finished ahead of Wisconsin (6:03.2) who finished in sixth place.

Earlier in the day, BU cruised through its heat races and advanced all of its boats to the grand finals.

In the morning's first heat, the fourth varsity eight boat won its race with a time of 6:12.8, ahead of second place finisher George Washington (6:14.1), Brown (6:16.7), Navy (6:18.0) and Yale (6:24.0) and advanced to the grand finals.

Next up was BU's third varsity eight boat. BU finished second with a time of 6:08.4 behind heat winner Harvard (6:03.5) but ahead of third place finisher George Washington (6:11.8) to move on the grand final.

BU's varsity eight boat advanced to the grand finals after finishing a very close second to Princeton in its heat race. The V8 finished with a time 5:49.9 behind winner Princeton (5:48.2) and well ahead of third place Syracuse (5:55.9), Penn (5:58.6), George Washington (6:00.6) and Holy Cross (6:12.0).

The Terrier's second varsity eight boat continued BU's morning success by also finishing second in its heat race to advance to the grand final. The BU 2V finished with a time of 5:56.1 behind Princeton (5:52.1) and ahead of third-place finisher Syracuse (6:01.6), Penn (6:02.1), George Washington (6:07.4) and MIT (6:26.2), setting the stage for its bronze medal win later in the day.

The Terriers will now have three weeks to prepare for the IRA National Championships in Mercer, New Jersey on June 3-5.

Rowe Cup Points
1. Princeton - 37 - Eastern Sprints Rowe Cup Champions
2. Harvard - 35
3. Brown - 31
4. Yale - 30
5. BU - 27
6. Cornell - 24
7. Wisco - 16
8. NU - 13
9. Dartmouth - 12
10. Syracuse - 10
11. Penn - 7
12. Columbia - 6
(6 others tied with 0 points)