Men's Crew Finishes Second In Bill Cup
April 20, 2002 | Men's Rowing
The Terrier men's crew put on another excellent effort on Saturday (April 20th) but it came up just a boat length short as it lost to Dartmouth in the annual Bill Cup. Host Rutgers finished third in the event.
The Terriers, whose varsity heavyweight record this spring slipped to 1-4, were timed in 5:55.40 over the 2000-meter course on the Raritan River in New Brunswick, NJ. In the meantime, Dartmouth won the featured race in 5:51.50. The Scarlet Knights were third in 6:05.2.
It was the third time in four weeks that the Terriers' varsity heavyweight boat lost a race by a boat length or less. They opened the season with a less than one stroke loss at Syracuse. The Orangemen were timed in 6:13.6 to 6:14.1 for the Terriers. The following week, B.U. traveled to Brown and came up just short again as the Bruins outrowed the Terriers, 5:50.7 to 5:55.1. The only race this spring in which the Terriers have lost by open water was against Northeastern. The Huskies won the Arlett Cup in 6:39.0 to 6:54.7 for the Terriers.
Dartmouth also won the second varsity race in 6:06.90, while Rutgers was second in 6:19.40, and the Terriers were third in 6:25.10.
In the first freshmen race, B.U. rowed well with a 5:44.10 but finished behind Dartmouth, as the Big Green was timed in 5:39.80. Rutgers was third in 5:46.60.
Extenuating circumstances surrounded the first freshmen race as the Terriers and Big Green were involved in a pre-race accident while the two boats were warming up prior to the beginning of the race. The accident left the Terriers' boat, the Nesworthy, unrowable. As a result, the B.U. freshmen had to wait for the conclusion of the second varsity race so they could use the boat, the Conlan. Once the Conlan came to the dock, it had to be re-rigged for the freshmen rowers. An hour and a half after the race was scheduled to start, the B.U., Dartmouth, and Rutgers freshmen boats were ready to race. By that point, the tide and currents were going out, and that resulted in times faster than the varsity race.
"The delay didn't get to our rowers," said Terrier freshman coach Dave LeFebvre. "While Dartmouth was able to make a minor rigging change to their freshman boat, we had to change and re-rig our boat. I've been saying all season that we have a tough bunch of guys rowing in our boat, and they showed that in their race on Saturday."
In the second freshman four race, the Terriers outrowed both Rutgers and Dartmouth. B.U. was timed in 7:32.90, while Rutgers was second in 7:38.80. Dartmouth was third in 7:47.40.
| Men's Rowing Results |
| Raritan River-New Brunswick, NJ--Bill Cup |
| April 20, 2002 |
| Varsity Eight |
| 1. Dartmouth, 5:51.50 |
| 2. Boston University, 5:55.40 |
| 3. Rutgers, 6:05.20 |
| Second Varsity Eight |
| 1. Dartmouth, 6:06.90 |
| 2. Rutgers, 6:19.40 |
| 3. Boston University, 6:25.10 |
| First Freshmen Eight |
| 1. Dartmouth, 5:39.80 |
| 2. Boston University, 5:44.10 |
| 3. Rutgers, 5:46.60 |
| Second Freshmen Four |
| 1. Boston University, 7:32.90 |
| 2. Rutgers, 7:38.90 |
| 3. Dartmouth, 7:47.40 |
