Men's Crew 'Disappointing' in Loss to Columbia
April 29, 2000 | Men's Rowing
The Terriers' men's varsity crew put on a "disappointing" performance according to head coach Rodney Pratt, en route to a boat-length loss to Columbia on The Charles River on Saturday (April 29th).
The Terriers, who just two weeks ago put together an inspiring row in a winning effort against Northeastern, have lost their last two regattas. Last week (April 22nd), they lost to Dartmouth and then bowed to Columbia on Saturday over the 2000-meter course. Columbia was timed in 5:48.70, while the Terriers were clocked in 5:52.30.
"Columbia is a much-improved crew," said Pratt. "Two weeks ago, they beat Yale in a Cup race that they hadn't won since 1941. And, it's been over 40 years since Columbia has beaten Yale in any varsity boat race." However, Columbia's improvement didn't hide the fact that Pratt was not happy with his team's effort.
"They just don't believe in themselves," said Pratt. "Right from the first stroke, Columbia went after it and we didn't. We are just rowing pieces and not racing." At the outset of the race, Columbia went off at 44.5 strokes a minute, while the Terriers were at 42.5.
By the 500-meter mark, both teams were at 37 strokes a minute, but Columbia had a three-seat lead. At the 1000-meter mark, the Terriers trailed by half-a-length, and it went to a full length at the MIT boathouse.
The outcome was more encouraging in the First Freshman race.
Off to a very quick start, the Terriers led by three seats after the first 100 meters, were a length up at the MIT sailing pavilion, and had open water at 500 meters.
The final margin was almost 17 seconds, as the Terriers were timed in 6:07.95 to Columbia's 6:24.74.
Columbia did not have a second varsity boat. Thus, there were just two races.
