April 16, 2011

Watch V4a, V4b, 2V8, V8 | Lineups
Interviews: V8 coxswain | 2V8 coxswain

BOSTON - Competing in the fifth annual Charles River Challenge, the Boston University women's rowing team posted a victory over No. 20 Louisville in the varsity eight and also won the varsity four 'b' race Saturday morning.

The teams faced difficult conditions, which included a 15-18 mph tailwind and choppy water that worsened in the second half of the 2,000-meter course.

Coxed by senior Alex Thornton and stroked by junior Claire Kuehnel, the V8 boat posted a time of 6:48.5 with the Cardinals finishing behind at 6:52.4. The Terriers showed great improvement in speed, as they only lost to by 6.6 seconds to Northeastern, who entered the event ranked 25th. Last week, in separate races on the Charles River, the Huskies had a faster time by 12.1 seconds.

The V4b boat coxed by sophomore Hannah Rooney and stroked by freshman Amelia Ralston surged ahead early and won by more than 12 seconds ahead of crews from No. 16 Radcliffe, Louisville and Syracuse.

In the 2V8 race, the BU boat coxed by junior Kayla Rivers and stroked by senior Krystal Weston took second ahead of Northeastern with the Cardinals winning their lone race of the day.

BU will conclude the Charles River Challenge on Sunday starting at 7:24 a.m. The V8 boat will face Minnesota, Syracuse and Louisville in the final race at 9 a.m.

DAY ONE RESULTS

Varsity Eight
Northeastern - 6:41.9
Boston U. - 6:48.5
Louisville - 6:52.4

Second Varsity Eight
Louisville - 6:55.8
Boston U. - 7:01.5
Northeastern - 7:06.6

Varsity Four 'A'
Northeastern - 7:37.2
Boston U. - 7:41.1
Louisville - 8:14.7

Varsity Four 'B'
Boston U. - 7:53.9
Radcliffe - 8:06.4
Syracuse - 8:27.1
Louisville - 9:02.6

Third Varsity Eight
Northeastern - 7:06.0
Louisville - 7:15.6
Boston U. - 7:20.9