Men's Crew Edged by Northeastern in Battle for Dreissigacker Cup

Saturday, April 18

Brown University

Northeastern

Men's Crew Edged by Northeastern in Battle for Dreissigacker Cup

4/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Crew

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown men's crew and Northeastern faced off in a close and hard-fought battle in the varsity eight event, but the Huskies used a furious finish to climb back and edge the Bears to claim the Dreissigacker Cup Saturday morning on the Seekonk River.

The first race was against the Fourth Varsity 4's, a category that is less common in spring racing, and it would be the first time Bruno had raced a 4 since the Tail of the Charles in November. The Brown 4 was once again staffed with all walk-on athletes, and despite their best efforts, the much larger and stronger Northeastern crew built a quick lead, which they held from the start to the finish. The Northeastern boat finished in a time of 6:48, with Brown trailing in a time of 7:05.

The next event was the Third Varsity and First Freshman. With no Northeastern Freshman crew to race against, Brown's youngest boat raced the Northeastern Third Varsity, in addition to its own Third Varsity. In the beginning of the race, the very strong Northeastern boat was able to gain a two-seat advantage on the freshmen, with the Brown 3V trailing quickly. The Brown 1F and the Northeastern 3V were locked in a dogfight through the first two minutes of the race, with the Brown boat taking a strong move at the quarter mark. Almost on even terms, Brown nearly broke through and took control of the race, but the Northeastern crew used a big push and stopped the freshmen's progress, and started to move back out into a position of control. The freshmen tried to react, but could not find the speed necessary to take charge, and in the end ceded the victory to Northeastern, who crossed the line in a time of 5:52, followed by the freshmen at 5:58, and Brown's Third Varsity at 6:12.

The second varsity was the bright spot of the day for Bruno, coming off the line furiously, locked in battle with the Northeastern JV, but at the same time, composed and ready for action. When the two boats opened out to their base cadence, it was clear that the Brown boat had done a better job of setting the rhythm, and Bruno started to gain ground on the Northeastern crew almost immediately. While a few well-placed moves by the Coxswain, Julia Franckh, helped the crew make the most of its position, it was clear that the ever-expanding lead from the Brown crew was due to its more powerful rhythm. The Brown crew won the race in a time of 5:45, with Northeastern coming across at 5:49.

The final race was the Varsity 8 in a challenge for the Dreissigacker cup. The opening salvo ended with Bruno in the lead, a lead that they extended throughout the first half of the race to almost a full boat length. Going into the second half, it looked like the race was all but over with Bruno in control, but at the moment where the Bears needed to cut ties with their opponents, the Northeastern crew began to push back into Brown's lead. Having stridden out to a higher cadence than is typical had gained Bruno the early lead, but now that Northeastern was pushing back, it left the Brown varsity with little place to go to answer the challenge. The onslaught continued, and by the time the two boats were passing the spectators with just one minute left in the race, the Northeastern crew pulled to almost even. With Bruno giving everything they had to keep their lead, the two crews crossed the finish line. Initially it was unclear who had won because the margin was so small, but after some review by the race officials, it was determined that Northeastern had managed to gain a slim lead in the final strokes to capture the win.

Brown returns to the water on Saturday, April 25 when they visit Ivy foe Dartmouth.

Lineups

1V
C: Neil Mckenzie
8: Anders Weiss
7: Avery Reavill
6: Finn Meeks
5: David Lazris
4: Brooks Reavill
3: Max Lowndes
2: Peter Woolley
1: Hunter Leeming