The weather held out for the Boston University men’s and women’s crew teams Saturday as they raced to second-place finishes.
Early morning rain and thunder eased up for the men’s race for the Arlett Cup against Northeastern University on the Charles River. The Terriers lost their hold over the Cup to the Huskies, whose first Varsity Eight bested BU by seven seconds.
The Terriers struggled in the middle of the race and could not regain the lead despite picking it up for a final push toward the finish line. Northeastern also picked up significant wins in the Second Varsity, Third Varsity and Freshman Eight races.
“The varsity raced better this week than they did before,” said BU coach Rodney Pratt. “But we need to improve on the middle [part] of the race.”
Training in the beginning of the week and possible lineup changes are in store for the men’s team, which travels to New Brunswick, N.J. this Saturday for the Bill Cup against Dartmouth College and Rutgers University.
The women faced a challenge in Saturday’s Class of 1985 Cup against Yale University and Dartmouth in Derby, Conn. but still fared rather well despite not being able to practice on the winding course prior to the race because of an early morning storm. The weather cleared up however, and the women raced in perfect flat-water conditions.
The Varsity Eight rowed past the Big Green to place second, trailing Yale by nine seconds. The Second Varsity, Varsity Four, 3 Varsity Four and Novice Eight teams each placed third in their respective races.
“The fact that we were able to row through Dartmouth this year was pretty good progress. Each race has gotten a bit better. We rowed a more controlled race,” said BU coach Holly Hatton.
“We still have to go faster. That’s the bottom line. We have to be really on the game. We have to have better focus than we had a week ago.”
BU hosts the two-day Charles River Challenge this upcoming Saturday and Sunday.
“This is a really big weekend for us,” Hatton said. “It could make a difference in our national position since we’ll be going against several crews that are ranked in the Top 20. If practices go well and we stay focused, I think we have a really good chance of doing well this weekend.”