The Boston University men’s and women’s varsity rowing teams faced early season challenges Saturday from both their opponents and the icy conditions on the Charles River.
The women’s rowing team had a strong showing, beating George Washington University and the United States Naval Academy to capture the Playfair Trophy. The BU women had a dominant showing, cruising through the varsity races and taking second in the novice race.
Weather conditions forced the race to be moved from its usual location and the length to be shortened. The race was forced to begin past the BU Bridge and shortened to 1,400 meters due to the conditions on the river.
The first varsity team rowed a 4:50.67 on the shortened course, narrowly edging a late charge by George Washington University.
‘We had a very difficult scenario but it was overall a good performance,’ said Women’s Coach Holly Hatton. ‘We expected a bigger margin of victory.’
The second and fourth varsity teams dominated, winning by 10 and 40 seconds, respectively. The first novice rowing team came in a close second to George Washington, losing by just under three seconds.
‘The second and fourth varsity had great races and won by large margins,’ Hatton said.
In addition to strong senior rowers, including Freddy Garnier, who took the bronze at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships for the women’s double sculls, Boston University has welcomed six strong recruits from many parts of the world.
The women’s varsity rowing team is at 1-1 on the year and faces Dartmouth College and Yale University on April 12.
‘It’s a work in progress,’ Hatton said. ‘We’re a bit behind in evolving as a team but it’s a great start.’
MEN’S TEAM The men’s rowing team suffered its first defeat of the season to Brown University on Saturday amidst concern over weather and river conditions. Brown controlled the meet by sweeping BU in the first and second varsity as well as the first freshman race.
Head Coach Rodney Pratt felt that the team would have had a stronger performance in better weather.
‘The water wasn’t the greatest but it’s the same for everybody,’ Pratt said. ‘It’s early in the season and we are looking to get faster.’
A good start by BU was matched by a strong finish by Brown, in which the Bears were able to pull ahead for a seven-second win. The BU second varsity boat lost by five seconds while the freshmen were bested by 26 seconds.
A long winter has prevented the men’s rowing team from having an active preseason practice schedule and limited the amount of strokes the team has had in the water.
‘We didn’t get into the water but a week and a half before the race,’ Pratt said. ‘They need more strokes together. Every year we tend to get faster through the season.’
The BU men’s rowing team comes off a 2001-2002 season in which it finished 17th overall at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. The loss to Brown drops the team to 1-1 on the season. The men won their opening race on March 29 against Syracuse University, in which they came from behind to win by five-tenths of a second. Their next meet is against Northeastern University on April 12.