WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Boosted by a pair of medal-winning performances, the Boston University women's lightweight rowing team finished runner-up at the IRA National Championship Regatta Sunday morning on Lake Mercer.
The Terriers claimed silver in the double sculls and bronze in the varsity four before finishing fourth in the varsity eight for a total of 58 points, two more than Harvard-Radcliffe and seven ahead of both Georgetown and Stanford. Princeton won gold in both the varsity eight and double sculls while also finishing fourth in the varsity four to hoist the team title at 66 points. Wisconsin (43), MIT (33) and Gordon College (7) rounded out the list.
Trying to repeat as champions in the double sculls, seniors
Grace Beery and
Kathryn Grabowski beat Harvard-Radcliffe by more than four seconds for the silver at 7:53.101. Princeton jumped out to a 1.3 second lead through the first 500 meters and built the lead to more than four seconds by the midway point to earn gold at 7:46.065.
In the varsity four race, the Tigers also jumped out to an early two-second lead and led fourth-place BU by more than seven seconds at the midway point. Coxed by
Nora Chan and stroked by
Charlotte Duan, the Terriers' V4 though turned on the jets and managed to overtake Princeton over the last 1,000 meters by nearly six seconds for the bronze at 7:47.621. MIT though was eight seconds faster than BU during that same stretch of the course to win at 7:39.089, while Harvard-Radcliffe took silver at 7:44.753.
Maecy Rickman,
Lulu Smith and
Kieran Purandare were also part of the boat that earned BU's second medal of the day.
During the last race, the V8 coxed by
Rayna Kuthiala and stroked by
Nina Palmer started off slow and was in sixth place through the first 500 meters but then posted the top second-500 meter split time by more than four seconds to get back into the competition. The Terriers were unable to keep up the pace though and finished fourth at 7:02.559, missing out on the podium by 1.9 seconds to Stanford. Princeton won at 6:55.889 with Georgetown placing second at 6:57.485.
SUNDAY GRAND FINAL RESULTS
Varsity Eight
1) Princeton - 6:55.889
2) Georgetown - 6:57.485
3) Stanford - 7:00.665
4) Boston University - 7:02.559
5) Harvard-Radcliffe - 7:04.685
6) Wisconsin - 7:21.289
Varsity Four
1) MIT - 7:39.089
2) Harvard-Radcliffe - 7:44.753
3) Boston University - 7:47.621
4) Princeton - 7:53.417
5) Stanford - 8:02.673
6) Wisconsin - 8:17.373
7) Georgetown - 8:39.465
Double Sculls
1) Princeton - 7:46.065
2) Boston University - 7:53.101
3) Harvard-Radcliffe - 7:57.467
4) MIT - 8:07.893
5) Wisconsin - 8:12.559
6) Gordon - 8:25.453
IRA Women's Lightweight Team Points
1) Princeton - 66
2) Boston University - 58
3) Harvard-Radcliffe - 56
4) Georgetown - 51
5) Stanford - 51
6) Wisconsin - 43
7) MIT - 33
8) Gordon - 7
LINEUPS
V8
Coxswain:
Rayna Kuthiala
Stroke:
Nina Palmer
7:
Hanna Brigham
6:
Catharine Griskowitz
5:
Perrin Lafky
4:
Ava Gamble
3:
Alexandra DeShaw
2:
Karsen Healy
Bow:
Savanna Jacovini
V4
Coxswain:
Nora Chan
Stroke:
Charlotte Duan
3:
Maecy Rickman
2:
Lulu Smith
Bow:
Kieran Purandare
2x
Stroke:
Grace Beery
Bow:
Kathryn Grabowski
