Varsity Crews Row At Eastern Sprints
May 22, 1999 | Women's Rowing
BOSTON -- The Terriers' varsity heavyweight crew, facing a must-row-well situation if they wanted to qualify for the NCAA National Championships, did just that as they finished sixth at the Eastern Sprints at Lake Waramaug, in Kent, CT.
The second varsity continued to row with a strong spirit and likewise finished sixth in its event.
The only crew that was disappointing in its performance was the first novice. They, too, finished sixth, as all three Terrier boats made it to the Grand Finals in their respective events.
The end result was the B.U. team qualified for the Nationals, which will be held in Sacramento, CA, May 28-30. This is the third year the NCAA is sponsoring the event, but the first time the Terriers will be entered as a team.
Last year, just the varsity heavyweight crew qualified, and B.U. finished 13th.
Head Coach Holly Hatton, who is finishing her third year as the Terriers' varsity coach, was rightfully elated on how her heavyweight boat did.
The key was the morning heat in which the Terriers were pitted against Northeastern, a crew that had defeated the Terriers in the final regular-season regatta.
Rowing against the Huskies on The Charles River on April 25th, the Terriers lost by about three seconds, 7:12.61 to 7:15.39.
Now, a couple of weeks later, these same two crews were matched up in the morning heat of the Eastern Sprints.
"I told the heavyweight crew they would have to row a gutsy race in the morning heat in order to make it to the Grand Finals in the afternoon. And, that's exactly what they did."
As expected, Northeastern and B.U. battled each other for the first 1000 meters of the 2000-meter course.
"But, with 500 meters to go, we were down by two seats," recalled Hatton. "Northeastern has a far bigger boat than us (averaging height and weight of the eight rowers), and I thought they would just row through us.
"But, in the last 250 meters we rowed better technically than Northeastern, and we just outrowed them. We were sharper and more determined, and we beat them.
"I was so proud of how our people rowed," said Hatton.
Then, in the afternoon Grand Finals, B.U., which had expanded virtually all its energy in rowing past Northeastern in the morning, finished sixth in a time of 6:16.3. Wisconsin was just ahead of the Terriers in 6:14.1, while Brown won the title in 6:02.1. Princeton was second in 6:04.2.
"I think the race showed just how much faster we have gotten during the season," said Hatton.
"If we can build on that, then I think we can beat Wisconsin and Radcliffe at the Nationals, and finish among the top 12."
The second varsity also rowed a tough race in the morning heat at the Sprints. Their effort earned them a spot in the afternoon's Grand Finals where they finished sixth in a time of 6:37.7, 6.3 seconds slower than fifth-place Pennsylvania.
Virginia won the event in 6:14.0, just one-tenth of a second ahead of Brown.
"The first novice didn't row very well, and I am not sure why," said the coach. "In the morning heat, they led by open water at 1000 meters.
But, over the final 1000 meters, they were caught and finished second. Then, in the Finals, they were sixth."
The Terriers were timed in 6:31.4, 3.3 seconds behind Princeton. Brown won the novice event in 6:16.0, while Virginia was second in 6:20.5.
The boat that fared the best was the second novice, which finished fourth in the Finals.
"They rowed a gutsy race," said the coach. "They got off to a poor start, but came on strong at the end. And, they missed a bronze medal by less than a second."
Yale, which finished third in the event, was timed in 6:43.0, while the Terriers were clocked in 6:43.0.
Brown also won this event in a time of 6:34.4, while Princeton was second in 6:38.9.
