Rowers Fare Well At Head of Connecticut
October 19, 2000 | Men's Rowing
The Terrier men's crews competed for the first time this fall at the 26th Annual Head of the Connecticut Rowing Regatta in Middletown, CT on Oct. 8 and, according to head coach Rodney Pratt, "we rowed very well."
In the featured event, the varsity eight came in second in the Championship Eights event that included 14 of the top collegiate and club programs from throughout the United States and Canada. In addition, the JV eight finished 10th.
"It was an excellent performance by both boats," said Pratt, "considering every member of both the varsity and jayvee boats had already raced earlier in the day in either the pairs, intermediate eight, or single.
"We were the only team to have had rowers compete earlier in the day," Pratt continued.
Junior Sean Casavechia turned in the top individual performance. He won the men's collegiate single sculls over a field that included Montana Butsch. Butsch, from the University of Pennsylvania, is a member of the National Under-23 team. Three other scullers were in the event in which Casavechia prevailed.
In the Men's Championship Pairs, B.U. finished 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 8th out of 12 club, elite, and varsity crews from the US and Canada.
The twosome of junior Kevin Valent and Jeff Marx won the event, while juniors Johnson Mitchell and Mike Strilesky were second, and juniors Andre Reid and Trudo Letschert were fourth.
The freshman boat came in fourth overall out of 16 entered in the Men's Collegiate Novice Eights. Actually, the Terrier boat came in second, just four seconds behind Brown. Unfortunately, the Terriers were hit with a 30-second penalty caused by a mistake during the warmups. At that time, they went through the wrong arch under one of the bridges, and the 30-second penalty resulted in the fourth-place finish.
The top four freshmen rowers raced a second time in the Men's Championship Fours, and they finished eighth of out 24 crews that included top club, elite, and varsity crews. Again, the Terriers were the only crew in the event that had raced earlier in the day.
Finally, the B.U. third boaters competed in both the Lightweight Four and the Intermediate Eight, and they finished eighth out of 20 entries and fourth out of seven boats, respectively.
"We are still a young team," said Pratt. "Of the top rowers in the varsity events, there was just one senior and six juniors."
The next event for the Terriers is the Head of the Charles on October 20-21.
"I am hoping we have a good row," said Pratt. "I would like the varsity boat to finish in the top six among the collegiate boats entered."
