Departments
Sports
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Week of 17 April 1998 |
Vol. I, No. 28 |
Sports
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Bill Cup generates fierce rivalry on the CharlesRegatta Preview by Brian Fitzgerald This year's surprisingly mild winter may have frustrated cross-country skiers who glide on the Esplanade along the Charles River, but for Boston University rowers who train on the basin, the warm weather was a blessing. "El Niño has been good to us," laughs BU men's crew coach Rodney Pratt. Indeed, the uncharacteristic warmth on the East Coast of the United States has been attributed to the periodic rise in temperature of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America. Regardless of what exactly stopped the ice from forming on the Charles, Pratt is happy that his rowers were able to practice on the river instead of in MIT's rowing tanks. "It helped to have so much water time," says Pratt. The BU men's varsity crew is opening some eyes this spring after varsity victories against Syracuse March 28 and Brown April 4. Then on April 11, Boston University unexpectedly defeated Northeastern to win the annual Arlett Cup. BU pulled ahead at the 900-meter mark and never looked back, beating the Huskies by just three seats. The victory was the Terriers' third Arlett Cup trophy in the past nine years. Can Boston University defeat Bill Cup opponents Dartmouth and Rutgers? "Dartmouth was beaten handily by Yale, and Rutgers has been having a tough time," says Pratt. "Rutgers lost to Columbia and Yale." Boston University has the advantage of having five seniors on the first varsity squad, including coxswain Alexis Rice (SED'98), elected by teammates as the Most Valuable Player, along with captain Tim Holland (SMG'98), the boat's bow man, Reade Ware (CAS'98), Adam McNeill (CAS'98), and David Kobasa (SAR'98), who graduated from last year's junior varsity boat. Juniors Sean McCourt (CAS'99) and David Padgett (SAR'99) were both on the national lightweight team. The other junior, Thomas Nocella (CAS'99), moved up this season from BU's third varsity boat. The Bill Cup Regatta is a 2,000-meter (1.4-mile) race that begins at the Longfellow Bridge and concludes in front of the Cambridge Hyatt Regency Hotel. Unlike the Head of the Charles, the Bill Cup is side-by-side racing, "so spectators will be able to tell who's winning," says Pratt. "It's a strong rivalry, and the race is usually close." |
Athletes of the Week
Jennifer Manning and Jean Cooney
Women's lacrosse attacker Jennifer Manning (SAR'00), America East's second scoring leader with 28 goals and 19 assists, enjoyed her finest game of the season April 13 against Monmouth. Manning scored six goals and had one assist in BU's 15-11 victory.
Manning also had a goal and three assists in BU's 7-5 victory over Vanderbilt April 9. She is ranked 10th in the nation in assists per game and 15th in points per game.
In the Vanderbilt game, Manning's teammate Jean Cooney
(CAS'99) scored three goals. The defenseman's third tally,
her eighth in the last two contests, turned out to be the
game-winner.
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