The Boston University women’s rowing team capped off a successful league season Friday, winning the Patriot League Championship and earning the program’s second-straight NCAA Championships berth.
In the heat races, the Terriers’ varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four boats all advanced to the grand final.
Fighting through the wind and the rain, BU continued its strong showing in the finals. First up, the V4 boat, coaxed by junior Eline Vermeulen and stroked by sophomore Jo MacCune, finished in 8:30.353, just seven seconds behind the U.S. Naval Academy.
Next up, the 2V8 boat, coxed by freshman Marlaina Miller and stroked by freshman Kelli Wegner, posted a third-place finish and earned 14 points in the overall standings. Navy and Bucknell University came in first and second in the race, respectively.
The Terriers’ V8 boat needed a win in the final race of the day to secure the conference championship. BU’s boat, coaxed by senior Sarah Specht and stroked by junior Claire Richer, came through in crunch time, emerging victorious by virtue of a 7:14.580 finish. The victory put BU’s final points standing at 49, four marks ahead of Navy (45 points.)
For their efforts, the V8 boat was named Patriot League Boat of the Year and coach Stacey Rippetoe earned Coach of the Year honors.
With a Patriot League title under their belts, the Terriers will travel to Indianapolis for the NCAA Championships, which begin May 30.
Women’s tennis falls to No.12 Miami in NCAA Tournament
Playing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Boston University women’s tennis team saw its season come to an end, losing to No. 12 University of Miami, 4-0.
The host Hurricanes (21-6) came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, as the duo of junior Lina Lileikite and sophomore Stephanie Wagner dominated the opening doubles match over sophomore Kim McCallum and sophomore Madison Craft, 8-1. Senior Melissa Bolivar and classmate Brittany Dubins then swept sophomore Lauren Davis and freshman Barbara Rodriguez, 8-0, to secure the doubles point for Miami.
Things only got worse for the Terriers (14-7) in singles play. Lileikite got things started with a 6-1, 6-2 win over senior Leonie-Charlotte Athanasiadis in the No.3 slot. Dubins posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Craft in the No.6 slot and Wagner downed sophomore Johanna Hyoty 6-2, 6-1, to clinch the trip to the second round of the tournament for the Hurricanes.
BU will look to build upon their 2014 successes, as the team will bring back the Patriot League Player of the Year in Hyoty and an All-Conference First Team selection in Davis.
Peters breaks another school record
Senior distance runner Rich Peters continued his dominant 2014 campaign Thursday at the USATF High Performance Distance Classic, breaking yet another school record, this time in the 1500m.
Peters’ time of 3:38.83 broke his own school record of 3:40.05. His mark is also good enough for second in the NCAA, just behind Pennsylvania State University sophomore Brandon Kidder’s 3:38.82, set earlier this month at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California.
The Bristol, England native has now broken four school records in 2014. In addition to his 1500m mark, he also boasts records in the indoor 1000m, 3000m and one-mile races.
Peters’ season will culminate at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, set for June 10-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
Track Athletes Honored with All-Academic Awards
In recognition of their successes both on the track and in the classroom, members of the Boston University track and field program earned Academic All-Patriot League honors.
Senior Alison Barwise was named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year thanks to her impressive 3.85 GPA while pursuing a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. At the Patriot League Championship Meet earlier this month, Barwise was named Field Athlete of the Meet as she set school records in the high jump, javelin and the heptathlon.
Senior Nikko Brady and sophomore Michelle Sumner received spots on the Academic All-Patriot League team. Brady, who was the Track Athlete of the Meet at the Patriot League Championships, has a 3.82 GPA and is working towards a master’s degree in city, community and regional planning.
Sumner, who is majoring in both business administration and management and economics, holds a 3.20 GPA. She came in third at the Patriot League Championship meet in the 10,000m run with a time of 36:25.98.
On the men’s side, sophomore David Lagerberg was named to the All-League Academic Team. Lagerberg is an economics major who has a 3.28 GPA. Lagerberg won a Patriot League title in the 400m dash and came in second in the 200m at the league championship meet. He was also an integral part of the Terriers’ 4x100m relay team.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
