May 1, 2011
BOSTON — The No. 6-ranked Wisconsin men’s rowing team defeated No. 5 Boston University on Sunday morning in the varsity and second varsity eight races to win its sixth-straight Jablonic Cup. Since its inception in 1989, Wisconsin has claimed the cup named after former Wisconsin head coach Randy Jablonic 19 times.
“That’s the best BU crew I’ve seen in a long time,” said head coach Chris Clark. “And they’re not going anywhere.”
In the first race of the day, the UW varsity eight boat edged BU, posting a time of 5:44.7, just .3 seconds ahead of the Terrier boat.
“It was a much better start than yesterday,” said Clark.
The Badgers managed to gradually take a lead over BU, and led by roughly eight seats by the halfway mark of the race. Rowing through rougher waters in the second half, Wisconsin made a few mistakes and BU capitalized to get back into the race. The Terriers brought the lead down to four seats with 500 meters remaining.
“They definitely put the pressure on us,” stated Clark. “I was impressed by our stern pair, they really held their poise during that terrific onslaught by BU and we managed to hold them off by about five or six feet.”
The Badgers’ freshmen eight boat fell to Boston University in the second race of the day. The Badger boat finished 4.7 seconds behind BU’s boat with a time of 5:56.6.
“They had a good fight,” said Clark. “We were overlapped with BU for most of the race and it was only at the very end that they got away from us for a little open water.”
The Badgers’ second varsity boat was able to top BU in the final race of the day. The Cardinal and Red defeated the Terrier boat by almost 10 seconds, posting a time of 5:49.1.
“We had a little rough water and they handled it well,” said Clark. “I was impressed.
“That boat was a little difficult to pick and we essentially put it together for the Stanford Invitational and it’s worked quite well ever since. It’s very light and fast, and I like what I’m seeing.”
The Badgers take next weekend off to prepare for the 2011 Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships, which take place in Worcester, Mass., on May 15. The event serves as Wisconsin’s conference championships.
Jablonic Cup
May 1, 2011
Boston
Charles River
2000 meters
vs. No. 5 Boston University
Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 5:44.7, 2. BU, 5:45.0
UW Lineup: Coxswain Anthony Altimari, Andrew Gallagher, Michael Kaufman, Tim Aghai, Luke Juckett, Daniel Gengler, Matthew Hinkamp, Cody Rissman, Sam Hoidal
Second Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 5:49.1, 2. BU, 5:58.7
UW Lineup: Coxswain Michael Patinkin, Dave Lucas, Christopher Stiles, Daniel Moore, Liam Saunders, Dan Agostinacchio, Zach Rodenbough, Ryan Thompson, Ben Ruble
Freshmen Eight
1. BU 1F, 5:51.9, 2. Wisconsin, 5:56.6, 3. BU 2F, 6:08.8
UW Lineup: Coxswain Leonard Manning, Travis Breunig, Alec Schlemmer, Matt Sobotka, Logan Heitpas, Kevin Ripley, Ross McCaig, Mitchell King, Michael Lindberg
