By Travis Gschery, News Correspondent
The men’s varsity rowing team put on a strong performance this past weekend, winning their first race on the Charles River this season. In doing so, Northeastern defeated nearby Boston University, securing possession of the Arlett Cup for the 12th time in 14 years.
Northeastern and BU entered the weekend ranked seventh and tenth in the country, respectively, according to USRowing’s men’s varsity eight poll. The Huskies proved that they were up to the challenge of such a high-ranking matchup, quickly taking the lead in the race and never letting go. In the end, Northeastern posted a time 0f 6:01.8 and a winning margin of 2.8 seconds.
Northeastern’s victory improved their all-time record against BU to 44-12, including 29-9 in Arlett Cup races. The Huskies’ first varsity team is also now 3-1 on the season.
The second varsity-eight team was also victorious, squeaking by BU by 1.1 seconds with a time of 6.00.6. +The third and fourth varsity teams competed as well, posting times of 6:19 and 6:31.4, respectively. BU’s third and fourth squads were victorious in both races.
Even with the top two squads performing at an extremely high level, head coach John Pojednic remains focused on continuing to improve as a team. As the first and second varsity teams only had 1.2 seconds of separation on Saturday, the crew selection will likely only get more difficult moving forward.
“We are still sorting out the lineups,” Coach Pojednic said in an email to the News. “Our top 16 oarsmen and two coxswains are very evenly matched; this is a good problem to have, however, it means we have to invest more time than usual in crew selection. While this can be trying for the athletes in the short term, it will bring the best out in everyone in the long run and should make both of our top crews faster.”
The fluctuating lineups have been beneficial for the Huskies thus far, as the first and second varsity eight crews are now a combined 7-1 on the season, with the only loss coming earlier this season at the hands of the University of Pennsylvania by less than three seconds.
Coach Pojednic also noted that the team has no difficulty staying focused on what their own goals are. In the same email, coach Pojednic noted he didn’t notice any difference in the team’s preparation heading into a rivalry matchup against BU. “We focus on ourselves and let our competition choose to either do the same, or, be distracted by us.”
Northeastern will try to bring this focus and preparation into their next matchup against Brown University. The race is this Saturday, April 19, at the Henderson Boathouse.
Photo by Dan Pagliaroli.
