Freshman Fours Win Bronze At IRA Championships
June 2, 2007 | Men's Rowing
CHERRY HILL, N.J. - The freshman four with cox placed third in its race in 6:37.61 to win the bronze medal on the third day of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships on the Cooper River on Saturday. The varsity eight won its Third Level Final to place 13th overall, while the varsity four finished sixth in its Petite Final.
The freshman four started rowing at a 45 before settling into a 35, rowing long, composed strokes. BU was tied with Princeton and Yale in second place for the first 500m. California had moved into first by the 1000m mark, with the Terriers and the Bulldogs level, still in second. Yale made a move to secure silver, leaving BU and Princeton to battle for third through the third 500m. In the sprint to the finish, BU took the bronze.
In the varsity eight, the Terriers were in the mix for the second and third spots behind Navy off the start. BU moved up a few seats on the Midshipmen in the second 500m and made a big move at the 1000m mark to walk out on Navy. Navy was persistent, however, dogging the Terriers through the rest of the course. BU was rowing at a 39 in the last hundred meters to hold a 1/2 length lead on Navy. The Terriers' time of 5:44.67 was the tenth-fastest time turned in by a crew in all four of the varsity eight finals.
"We moved together and really showed what we can do," noted head coach Rodney Pratt. " It's always good to row your best at the IRAs. This was a fun group to coach. I've never had all five of my seniors in in varsity boat before."
The varsity four with cox hovered around fourth place for most of the race but dropped to sixth in the last 500m to finish 12th overall in 6:41.80. The open four had a good start, rowing a 36, but Michigan moved past BU and Navy at 500m. The race stayed close, with all the boats within a few seats of one another. The Terriers started to slip at 750m, behind Michigan, Dartmouth, Penn and Navy. Rowing a 34, BU made a push at 1250m and turned it up again at 1500m to take third place from the Big Green in 7:09.26.
The Terriers got off to a slow start in the varsity four without cox, trailing the field by two seats at 500m. BU challenged Michigan and moved level with Lehigh in fourth. The four drafted off MIT to creep up onto and pass Temple into the third spot behind Brown and the Engineers in the third 500m. However, the Wolverines had something in reserve and snuck back into third place. BU crossed the line in 6:39.37.
BU's freshman eight had a rough start to the race, being warned for being late and staying level with Dartmouth in fifth place through the first 1000m. The eight made a move at 1000m but it fell short and the Terriers could not recover, finishing in fifth place (6:09.45).
DAY THREE RESULTS
Varsity Eight Third Level Final
BU 5:44.67; Navy 5:46.55; Virginia 5:47.08; Georgetown 5:48.68; Syracuse 5:48.92; Penn 5:49.18
Varsity Four Petite Final
UMass 6:32.30; MIT 6:32.94; Puget Sound 6:33.80; Oregon State 6:33.96; Colgate 6:36.66; BU 6:41.80
Varsity Four Without Petite Final
Brown 6:31.81; MIT 6:33.10; Michigan 6:36.89; BU 6:39.37; Temple 6:41.26; Lehigh 6:49.61
Open Four Third Level Final
Michigan 7:00.21; Navy 7:03.60; BU 7:09.26; Dartmouth 7:12.97; Penn 7:16.15
Freshman Eight Third Level Final
Wisconsin 5:54.78; Columbia 5:59.28; Navy 6:02.65; Syracuse 6:04.98; BU 6:09.45; Dartmouth 6:13.59
Freshman Four Grand Final
California 6:28.98; Yale 6:34.62; BU 6:37.61; Princeton 6:38.88; Oregon State 6:40.30; Harvard 6:43.01
