Wisconsin rowers captured both the Cochrane and Jablonic Cups Saturday on the Cal-Sag Channel in Blue Island, Ill.
In the race for the Cochrane Cup, the No. 1 Wisconsin first varsity crew out-rowed No. 13 MIT and No. 18 Dartmouth to secure the victory. The Badger boat also beat No. 10 Boston University and MIT in its race for the Jablonic Cup. The Badger first varsity, second varsity and novice crews won all six races of the day.
“We won both the Cochrane and the Jablonic Cup,” Coach Chris Clark said. “I was concerned because of the competition and because of the injury situation, but we were happy to win.”
On slightly choppy water, the Badger first varsity crew won the Cochrane Cup for the fourth year in a row as they completed the 2000-meter course in 6:04.4, three seconds ahead of MIT who clocked in at 6:07.2. Dartmouth rounded out the field finishing in 6:16.4. The Badger win marks Wisconsin’s 31st title since the teams first met in 1961.
“Dartmouth was at least one man down due to illness,” Coach Clark said. “I think that set them back this weekend, which is too bad.”
In the second varsity race, Wisconsin also overcame Dartmouth. The Badger second varsity boat finished first in 6:14.3 while Dartmouth finished in 6:36.7.
Wisconsin Novice crews also made a strong showing in the novice race against MIT as the first novice crew took first in 6:07.3. MIT clocked in at 6:08.1.
“The MIT freshmen were excellent and pressed our guys very hard, but we won by about an eighth of a second,” Clark said. “MIT has vastly improved over the last few years, and they are definitely a very legitimate top 20 college varsity team. I was impressed.”
After a lunch break, the Wisconsin first varsity boat came back strong in its afternoon race against Boston University, and guest boat MIT, for the Jablonic Cup. The Badgers secured the Jablonic Cup for the fourth consecutive year as they clocked in at 5:54.8 to defeat the Terriers.
“Boston University is magnitudes batter than they’ve been lately. It was very close for a while, but we were fortunate to be able to move out,” Clark said. “We won by 5.8, but Boston University was very tough.”
In the second varsity race, Wisconsin’s second varsity crew also finished first, clocking in at 5:55.8. Boston University came in two seconds later with a time of 5:58.3.
In the novice competition, the Badger freshman crew overpowered Boston University to finish first in 6:13.4. The Terrier crew came in at 6:20.1.
“I was very impressed with the level of competition,” Clark said. “This is by far the highest level of competition we’ve had in years. Everyone is getting better.”
Wisconsin women take fourth at Big Tens
The Wisconsin women’s rowing team placed fourth in the Big Ten Championships this Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. The No. 14 Badgers finished with 113 points, behind No. 3 Michigan State, No. 5 Michigan and No. 7 Ohio State.
Six UW boats raced in the morning session of the Big Ten Championships, taking first in six races. The second novice eight boat won by eight seconds in 6:45.705, while the novice eights won in 6:28.167, the second varsity four boat won in 7:02.783, and the varsity four boat placed first in 6:58.389.
The second varsity eight boat and varsity eight boats placed second in 6:23.998 and 6:07.611, respectively.
In the afternoon races, the Badgers took first in three grand final races. Wisconsin placed first in the second novice eights, the novice eights, and the second varsity fours.
The second novice eights won the Big Ten title in 6:36.547, while the novice eights took first in 6:21.478, and the second varsity fours placed first in 7:00.595.
Wisconsin also took second in the varsity four grand finals in 7:02.856 behind Ohio State, and fourth in the second varsity eight and varsity eight grand finals in 6:21.657 and 6:1.036, respectively.
Three Badger athletes received All-Conference honors. Theresa Shields was named to the first All-Conference team, while Maggie Galloway was named to the second All-Conference team and Brittany Renault received a Sportsmanship Award.
— UWBadgers.com
