Terriers Sweep Columbia and Syracuse on Saturday
April 23, 2016 | Men's Rowing
Results
Leonia, N.J. - Boston University men's rowing swept Syracuse and Columbia on Overpeck Creek in Leonia, N.J. on Saturday morning, retaining both the Lusins Trophy (Columbia) and the Conlan Cup (Syracuse). With the victories, the Terriers now have won seven of the last eight Lusins Trophy races and five of the last six Conlan Cup races.
In the final race of the morning, the Terriers’ No. 7 varsity eight boat faced off against No. 11 Syracuse and No. 18 Columbia. The V8, coxed by senior Maggie Read and stroked by classmate Mackenzie Copp, established a 4 seat lead at the 500 meter mark of the race. The Terriers extended the lead over Syracuse to three quarters of a length at the halfway point with Columbia in third, a full length in back of the Orange. BU opened it to a full length lead but could not break free as Syracuse mounted a strong challenge over the final 500. BU finished close to 3 seconds up on Syracuse, who finished 14 seconds ahead of Columbia.
With the 1V victory, BU has now won both the Conlan Cup and the Lusins Trophy four-straight years and has won four-straight cup races on the season after beating Northeaster for the Arlett Cup and Dartmouth and Rutgers for the Bill Cup.
“I thought we had an aggressive start and were able to pull out to a lead, which was our plan,” said head men’s rowing coach Thomas Bohrer. “We got it to a boat length but Syracuse was pushing and we couldn’t really get away. We knew Syracuse was good. Overall we are satisfied but we know we can be better in the final 1000 meters and we will need to get better before the Eastern Sprints.”
Earlier in the morning, the second varsity eight also defeated Syracuse and Columbia. The 2V, coxed by sophomore Justin Goucher stoked by junior Mike Kapp, attacked hard and moved out to an early lead over Columbia with Syracuse third. BU pulled away by open water over the second 500 meters and maintained a comfortable distance as Syracuse and Columbia battled it out for second. The Terriers’ 2V cruised to victory by open water with Syracuse finishing second, just holding off Columbia in a very close race.
In the first race of the day, the third varsity started things off with a win. The 3V, coxed by sophomore Jeanne Garner and stroked by freshman Paul Giroux finished first, setting the stage for the BU sweep.
Following the racing, the Doc Lussins Trophy, awarded to the winner of the Boston vs. Columbia dual, was presented to the BU Captains by Doc’s son, Matt Lussin (’98).
Also competing on Saturday, BU’s fourth varsity eight took on Harvard and Navy on the Charles River. The Terriers fourth varsity continued BU’s winning ways, finishing ahead of second-place Harvard and third-place Navy.
BU’s fifth varsity also raced on Saturday, competing in fours. The BU “B” took second to first-place Navy, with the BU “A” finishing third. Navy “B” took fourth and Harvard was fifth.
Next week, the Terriers will return home to face old rival Wisconsin on April 30th in their final race of the season before Eastern Sprints on May 15. The final home race of the year vs. Wisconsin will mark the final competition at DeWolfe Boathouse for fourteen seniors, who will be honored after the race.
RESULTS
Conlan Cup
1V BU 6:06.8 Syracuse 6:09.4
2V BU 6:06.7 Syracuse 6:16.4
3V BU 6:20.4 Syracuse 6:24.5
1V BU 6:06.8 Columbia 6:24
2V BU 6:06.7 Columbia 6:16.8
3V BU 6:20.4 Columbia 6:34.8
Charles River (BU guest crews)
4V8
BU (no time)
Harvard -1.3
Navy -7.2
5V4+
Navy A 6:53
BU B 6:53.6
Navy B 6:58.9
BU A 7:09
Harvard 7:34
