Men???s Crew Turns in Good Showing at Eastern Sprints
May 13, 2007 | Men's Rowing
Worcester, Mass.—All four seeded Boston University men’s crew boats finished at or above their seeding for the second straight year at the 2007 EARC Eastern Sprints held on Lake Quinsigmund. The varsity eight finished second in the Petite Final to place eighth overall, improving four spots over its 12th place finish in 2006.
The first and second freshman boats finished sixth and second, respectively, in their Grand Finals, while the second varsity boat won its Third Level Final to finish 13th overall. The third varsity boat placed sixth in its morning race.
The varsity eight entered the Sprints seeded 12th and placed fourth in its morning heat, which sent it to the Petite Final where the Terriers raced Cornell, Penn, Northeastern, Navy and Georgetown. In the morning heat, the varsity started well and battled Cornell for the third spot before the Big Red moved out in front. The Terriers finished ¾ length ahead of Rutgers in 5:52.57. In the Petites, BU had another good start and was aggressive in the first 650m to take the lead. The Terriers repeatedly held off charges from Cornell and Northeastern and had a three-seat lead at 1000m, but Cornell out-sprinted the varsity in the last few meters to edge out the Terriers.
“I’m really pleased,” noted head coach Rodney Pratt. “They had a good race in the morning and really pulled it out in the afternoon. For only rowing together for two weeks, they did very well.”
The freshman crew had an excellent day, with both eights make their Grand Finals. The first freshman boat, seeded seventh, rowed very well in the morning heat. Harvard and Columbia rowed out in front in the first 1000m, with BU a 1/2 length behind Columbia. But the Terriers made a push at the 1250m mark, rowing at a 37, to attack Columbia and move into second place by 1500m. Columbia pushed BU at the finish but fell short. With the morning win over the Lions, the freshman exacted a measure of revenge, after Columbia edged the Terriers by 0.34 seconds in the Lusins Cup earlier in the season. BU drew the unprotected sixth lane in the Grands and trailed from the start.
The second freshman boat, seeded second, won its morning heat to advance to the Grand Final. There, BU and Harvard moved ahead of the pack in the first 1000m, with BU in front by a few seats. The Crimson took the lead in the third 500m, and BU’s sprint at the finish fell short.
The 13th-seeded JV eight finished sixth in the morning heat, without the benefit of the tailwind that had aided the crews that had raced before. The boat recovered nicely in the afternoon’s Third Level Final, rowing out to easily take first place by 3/4 length open water.
BU will now focus on the IRAs, held May 31 to June 2 on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Varsity Eight (Petite Final)
Cornell 5:35.74; BU 5:36.96; Penn 5:38.41; Northeastern 5:39.7; Navy 5:40.92; Georgetown 5:47.69
JV Eight (Third Level Final)
BU 5:57.32; George Washington 6:01.6; Holy Cross 6:01.85; Dartmouth 6:12.87
Third Varsity Eight (unseeded)
Brown 5:49.49; Syracuse 5:52.14; Wisconsin 5:55.62; Navy 6:03.52; BU 6:22.54
First Freshman (Grand Final)
Brown 5:39; Harvard 5:41.04; Princeton 5:42.35; Northeastern 5:48.66; Yale 5:51.66; BU 5:54.17
Second Freshman (Grand Final)
Harvard 5:53.90; BU 5:55.18; Navy 6:00.60; Cornell 6:03.46; Yale 6:08.39; Georgetown 6:13.12
