BETHEL, Ohio - The Boston University women's rowing team competed in the semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Championship on Saturday at East Fork/Harsha Lake and had a pair of third-place finishes to secure a pair of C final berths for the second time in four appearances as a conference champion.
Last accomplishing the feat as a representative of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in 2013, the Terriers had all three BU boats top AAC champion SMU with the second varsity eight and varsity four boats also adding wins over MAAC champion Jacksonville. The NCAA started awarding automatic bids in 2013.
Needing a top-three finish out of five boats to avoid the D final, the 2V8 coxed by
Trisha Jaggi and stroked by
Ada Giraldo started the race with a three-second lead over SMU with Jacksonville further behind through the first 500 meters. The Terriers built their lead to over six seconds at the midway point and ended the race third at 6:50.900 to reach their second C final in three years, while the Mustangs placed fourth at 6:56.578.
The V4 coxed by
Kennedy Walker and stroked by
Sonya Carson set a fast pace at the start, jumping out to the lead ahead of Ohio State by 0.2 seconds with Indiana in third two seconds behind and SMU more than seven seconds away. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers eventually moved ahead of the Terriers by the 1,000-meter mark, but the Mustangs and Dolphins never threatened. BU reached its first C final in the V4 as a conference champion with a third-place finish at 7:38.522 for an open-water victory over the Mustangs (7:48.139).
In the first race of the morning, the V8 coxed by
Audrey Lucerne and stroked by
Sofia Suhinin built a 4.5 second lead over the Mustangs through the midway point and held off a late charge for a three-second win. However, the Terriers were unable to keep pace over the third 500 meters with West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga to finish fourth overall at 6:43.521.
The V4 C final will take place at 8:24 a.m. on Sunday (June 2), while the 2V8 C final and V8 D final will be back-to-back at 8:48 a.m. and 8:56 a.m.
DAY TWO RESULTS
Varsity Eight
Semifinal #4 (top 3 to C final, remainder to D final)
1) Rutgers - 6:27.395
2) Virginia - 6:27.684
3) Gonzaga - 6:36.947
4) Boston University - 6:43.521
5) SMU - 6:46.753
Second Varsity Eight
Semifinal #3 (top 3 to C final, remainder to D final)
1) Rutgers - 6:34.986
2) Syracuse - 6:39.872
3) Boston University - 6:50.900
4) SMU - 6:56.578
5) Jacksonville - 7:07.766
Varsity Four
Semifinal #3 (top 3 to C final, remainder to D final)
1) Ohio State - 7:28.894
2) Indiana - 7:33.687
3) Boston University - 7:38.522
4) SMU - 7:48.139
5) Jacksonville - 7:53.714
LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
cox:
Audrey Lucerne
stroke:
Sofia Suhinin
7:
Mariana Forehand
6:
Lydia Pelton
5:
Olivia Bencze
4:
Anna Dechantsreiter
3:
Ingrid Eshuis
2:
Camilla Silvestri
bow:
Susan Cook
Second Varsity Eight
cox:
Trisha Jaggi
stroke:
Ada Giraldo
7:
Hannah Look
6:
Grace Brown
5:
Viktoria Zruttová
4:
Sally Thoden
3:
Lilly McSweeney
2:
Reagan Lynch
bow:
Bianca Saffirio
Varsity Four
cox:
Kennedy Walker
stroke:
Sonya Carson
3:
Aryn Bailey
2:
Lulu November
bow:
Luisa Reussner
