By Alex Bensley, news staff
The Northeastern University (NU) men’s rowing team opened their season with a loss to Boston University, but redeemed themselves this past weekend with a sweep of Brown University to break even.
The team faced Boston University (BU) in the Arlett Cup on April 9. The event was the team’s first outing of the season after the previous week’s scheduled race against the University of Pennsylvania was canceled due to weather.
The Terriers won the first varsity race by a five-second margin, which proved to be enough for the day, as the Huskies could not overcome the substantial deficit in the latter two varsity races.
The Charles River was unforgiving to the Huskies in the first 300 meters. A crab clung to an oar, forcing the team to divert its attention in order to remove the crab. The misfortune was reflected in the first varsity results: 6 minutes, 13 seconds for BU and 6:18 for the Huskies.
Northeastern led the second varsity race for the entire time and survived a late push by the Terriers to hold on for a half-second victory (6:26.5 to 6:27.1). In the third race of the day, Northeastern took the lead in the latter portion of the race and defeated BU’s third varsity by three-tenths of a second (6:29.3 for NU; 6:29.6 for BU). However, BU’s fourth varsity surpassed both third varsity squads with a sizable five-second victory.
BU’s victory evens recent trends in the Arlett Cup, with each side now winning three times in the last six years. Since the Cup’s inception in 1966, Northeastern holds a 29-12 advantage.
On Saturday, NU squared off with Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, for the 53rd annual Dreissigacker Cup. Northeastern took the title, winning all three races by a combined 1.31 seconds. The close victory was the team’s first of the spring season.
The first varsity race of the day did not disappoint in intensity, as the two squads went oar-for-oar until the final strokes. Northeastern snuck across the line just before Brown, and a video review confirmed the result—a .01 second victory for the Red and Black (6:12.55 to 6:12.56).
The Huskies carried the victory into the second race, winning 6:22.8 to 6:23.7. The final race was decided by another close margin, in which the Huskies won again, 6:35.3 to 6:35.7.
Four of the last six Dreissigacker Cups have gone to Northeastern, but Brown leads the all-time series 30 to 23, dating back to 1963.
With no race this upcoming weekend, the Huskies will be sure to stay focused as they face a tough task in Harvard next Saturday. The race will take place at the Charles River, where the Huskies hope to have better luck. On Sunday, Northeastern faces the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the team’s final race on the Charles this season.
