June 24, 2009
This summer, GoTerriers.com is counting down the top 12 achievements of Boston University teams and student-athletes in 2008-09, one of the greatest years ever for Terrier athletics. Check back each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we reveal this year's Terrier Twelve.
Coming in fifth in this year's Terrier Twelve is the late season heroics of the men's crew team, highlighted by the varsity eight boat's improbable last-minute charge in the semifinals of the IRA Championship to overtake fourth-ranked Wisconsin and reach the Grand Final for the first time since 2005. With the second varsity eight boat also reaching its respective Grand Final race at the IRAs, the Terriers and first-year head coach Thomas Bohrer received the Clayton Chapman Award for the most improved team in the country.
BU began the season ranked 14th in the first USRowing Collegiate Poll and lost the opening race against then-No. 7 Northeastern by .06 seconds. The squad two weeks later gave notice that this season had the potential to be a memorable one. On April 25 on the Charles River, the V8 boat sped by higher-ranked Columbia to capture the Lusins Cup for the first time since 2006, while also snapping the Lions' five-race win streak during the spring season.
Still, few could have imagined the Terriers making program history at the Eastern Sprints on May 10, when both the V8 and 2V8 boats reached the Grand Final for the first time ever in the same year. The 2V8 boat earned the bronze medal for a third-place showing, giving the Terriers their first-ever medal from one of the varsity boat races. BU finished fifth overall in the Rowe Cup team standings and carried over the momentum from the strong performance to the annual Michalson Cup race on May 27 against then-No. 2 Brown.
For the first time since 1987, before most of the members of the team were even born, the Terriers shocked the Bears to capture their second-ever Cup. Coxed by sophomore Bianca Wieczorek and stroked by junior Meindert Klem, the V8 boat stayed close with Brown through the first portion of the race, slowly moving ahead before taking half a boat length lead at the midway point of the race. The Terriers held strong and won with a time of 5:45.2, while the Bears crossed the line at 5:48.3.
The team knew the season wasn't over after the thrilling victory and that there was more work to be done at the IRAs, the men's collegiate rowing version of the Super Bowl. To reach the Grand Final, the seventh-seeded Terriers needed to finish in the top three in its respective semifinal race. California and Harvard were ahead for the top two spots, leaving BU and Wisconsin alone to battle for the third spot.
The Badgers had already defeated BU by six seconds back on May 3 to capture the Jablonic Cup, but the Terriers were not going to miss out on the opportunity to compete for the national title. Wisconsin led by about 1.5 seconds with just 500 meters remaining, and the BU used everything left in the tank, a move website Row2K labeled similar to a "Hail Mary" in football, to overtake the Badgers and advance to the Grand Final.
The V8 boat finished sixth overall, while the fifth-seeded 2V8 boat took fourth. With the freshman eight boat placing 14th, the Terriers finished with a total of 125 points, an 80-point improvement from the previous season.
The Terriers only got better after each race during the season and defied expectations by reaching the Grand Final at both the Eastern Sprints and IRAs, making this year one that no one will ever forget.
The Terrier Twelve
No. 6 - Lacrosse Extends AE Dynasty as Dalton Wrecks Records
No. 7 - Women's Soccer Maintains Reign Over America East
No. 8 - Women's Tennis Continues America East Dominance
No. 9 - Conference Crown and All-Americans for Women's Track
No. 10 - Women's Swimming & Diving Conquers America East
No. 11 - Women's Ice Hockey Cracks National Rankings
No. 12 - Rickett Rewrites Records at America East Championship
A Letter from Athletic Director Mike Lynch
