Side by side with some of the nation’s finest collegiate oarsmen, it would stand to reason that the Northeastern men’s crew team would hold its own at the 2004 EARC Eastern Sprints May in Worcestor.
After all, the Huskies finished 4-1 against the likes of Brown and cross-town rival Boston University.
By finishing fourth behind the nation’s number one team, Harvard, along with Princeton and Navy, Northeastern left a mark on the 2004 season that would not soon be forgotten.
Starting with a trip to Mission Bay, Calif. on April 5, the Huskies began their season by finishing second in the Copley Cup Grand Final with a time of 6:11.93.
California took the Cup at 6:09.4, but Northeastern started its season off promising and with only a return to the Charles River next in sight.
“It probably set the bar for the season,” said Northeastern men’s crew coach John Pojednic, who completed his fourth season at the helm this year. “Starting off against some of the best teams in the country and to come up second at the regatta was extraordinary. It was a great day for Northeastern athletics. We had 200 NU alumni in California and I’m sure it opened California’s eyes in terms of what’s going on at NU.”
The Huskies then started a string of success with three straight victories against BU in the Arlett Cup, Brown in the Dreissigaker Cup and Rutgers in the Congram Cup, all before the month ended.
The team paced itself with ease over BU, taking the win with a time of 6:32.2, as compared to the Terriers’ 6:36.8. Northeastern not only claimed the Arlett for the fourth straight year in the Cup’s 27-year history, but improved its record over BU to 37-9.
The 40th annual Dreissigaker Cup pitted then fourth-ranked Northeastern against eighth-ranked Brown.
By the halfway point of the race, the Huskies had a full-length lead over Brown, and ended the race with a 5:54.1 time, defeating Brown’s 5:55.8 finish.
“Racing Brown is like Northeastern football going out and playing Ohio State,” Pojednic said. “They’ll bring in 20 recruits a year and can do things recruiting-wise that we can’t do. For every one good guy we have, they probably have four. But for us to go out there and beat them says a lot about what we’re doing.”
Extending their record to 3-0, the crew team defeated Rutgers 6:10.6-6:12.3 on April 24 at the Charles River.
The team then returned to the Charles again to face the nation’s best in Harvard for the Smith Cup. The Crimson proved their worth with a convincing 6:11.0 time and victory, beating Northeastern’s 6:25.00.
Just over a week later, the team finished off its regular season record with a 5:54.9 time in Pennsylvania to beat Penn for the Burk Cup.
Departing senior Marko Vukovic singled out the performances of sophomores Michael Tripician and Craig Smallwood.
“Mike definitely improved a lot from his freshman year,” he said. “I believe he’ll be the leader of the whole pack next year. He sets a really good example for the rest of the team. Craig was really important as well.”
Pojednic pinpointed that the team lacked a true superstar, and mentioned that the first varsity boat of eight worked best as a team.
“It’s hard for me to pick an MVP for this team, we really didn’t have anyone that stood out or a superstar,” he said. “No one had a bigger impact than anyone else. I do think that Will Miller and Tom Nance, both sophomores, stepped up quite a bit. Their level of confidence grew in racing situations and they transformed themselves into high level college athletes.”
The Huskies then entered their final two races of the season with competition against the nation’s finest in the Eastern Sprints and the IRA Championships.
At 5:49.5, Northeastern was in the thick of the Eastern Sprints, ahead of national powers Wisconsin and Cornell.
Entering the IRA Championships with very high expectations, the Huskies finished at eighth overall. The team was fourth in the semi-finals at 5:58.5, and then finished just behind Yale in the Petite Final at 6:12.4, as they did not advance to the Grand Final.
“After a long period of work, this is definitely a success,” Vukovic said. “We got a good group of guys to a level that was just right there, and just a hair short of making the finals, which is a big thing. The team for next year now has a really good perspective, with our entire freshmen class coming back and only two seniors leaving.”
Pojednic noted how close the programs were at the IRA Championships.
“These are exceptional results for this program and the guys on the team. As far as the national championships, to finish eighth in the country with five sophomores is actually quite good. Between the fifth and eighth spots, it was a matter of seconds.”
With a young nucleus, Pojednic set out to make sure the team could handle the pressure of close races.
“Boat racing is not about six, eight, or 10 seconds,” he said. “It’s about those one or two seconds. The guys had to be confident, mature and prepared to compete at this level. To see those guys come out on the good side of those races, says a lot about their development.”
