BARABOO, Wis. —  Despite falling just short of a Jablonic Cup victory over No. 10 Boston University, the No. 11 Wisconsin men's rowing team defeated MIT Saturday at Devil's Lake State Park to capture the Cochrane Cup for the 13th consecutive season.

Wisconsin's varsity eight sailed past MIT early on in the 2000-meter race to secure the Cochrane Cup, but a slow start kept Wisconsin from powering past the Terriers.

A mid-heat surge by the Badgers tightened the race all the way to the finish line, but Boston University ultimately claimed the victory, edging Wisconsin by four tenths of a second to retain the Jablonic Cup.

The second varsity eight's first strokes propelled them ahead of BU and MIT in the opening minutes of the race, but the Terriers gained enough speed in the final 1000 meters to slip past the Badgers and take the second race. Wisconsin finished two seconds behind the Terriers with a time of 5:48.34.

The third varsity eight and the freshmen eight boats rowed in the final varsity race against Boston University, but neither boat could get past the Terriers who maintained the lead the entire 2000 meters, clocking in at 5:56.41.

Up Next:
The Badgers take another weekend off before traveling to Worcester, Massachusetts, for the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships.

Straight from the lake
Head Coach Chris Clark
On the varsity eight's performance:
"Just as I predicted at the press conference, I knew these races would be tight. I think again if we raced BU right now, it'd be 50/50 every race. And that one was close. I didn't even get the official time but I think it was just a few feet. It was a big disappointment for the guys. But probably the biggest disappointment is that the race was lost in literally the first stroke. We did not handle it well. Boom, they were down. The margin after the first two or three strokes was bigger than it was at the finish.
We have absolutely gotten over the hump that we were in the last few years which was simply that when the guys felt they couldn't win, it'd be a "what the heck" proposition and they'd finish 10, 15 seconds off. These guys never back off, and we just couldn't quite get it going enough to surmount. It was really only about 15 or 20 feet that they gave up, but they never could quite get it. In a tailwind situation like that, it's tough to come back. I thought they gave it an excellent effort, just not great execution."

On the second varsity eight:
"At the lower boats, we have a very quick 2V. Our middle four is populated by some sophomores who are getting better by the minute, but still they just couldn't close the deal on BU. They were up much of the race, but their 500 got short, the water got a little choppy, and boom. I like it though. I like what they're doing. That boat will just stay the same just where it is. Hopefully by Eastern Sprints time we can lock down that middle thousand a lot better. Again, they were up most of the race, and they felt they should have won as well."

On the third varsity eight/freshmen eight:
"In the third boat, we rowed a freshmen eight and just kept the unit together. For most of the race they were well ahead of the third boat. I predicted as before, our third boat has terrific top speed and sure enough, they took the lead. With all the novices, they're not skilled enough to overcome pulling hard for 500 and maintaining much rhythm, but it's going to be great for the future. We really need them, and we need them now. We'll keep those freshmen. They need as much racing as they can get. At the second and third boat level next year, we're going to have a big infusion of talent. It will be very helpful coming from these guys."

On Northeastern:
"We'll move on to Northeastern tomorrow. They've already beaten BU so they're a real top team as well. This will be yet another chance for us to see if we can take a big step forward."

No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 10 Boston University/MIT
Baraboo, Wis.
April 28, 2018
2,000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Boston University, 5:45.49; 2. Wisconsin, 5:45.95; 3. MIT, 6:04.34
Wisconsin Lineup: Theodore Van Beek (cox), Tristan Amberger, Nickolas Montalvo, Andrew Griffin, Jonah Van der Weide, Kyle McCarthy, James Bernard, Jacob Wenner, Thomas Walker

Second Varsity Eight
1. Boston University, 5:46.21; 2. Wisconsin, 5:48.34; 3. MIT, 6:16.34
Wisconsin Lineup: Cameron Pak (cox), John Hollow, Alexander Butler, Kurt Mueller, Dylan Adams, William Alt, Nathan Petersen, Andrew Flannery, Tyler Stevens

Third Varsity Eight
1. Boston University, 5:56.41; 2. Wisconsin Freshmen Eight, 6:04.49; 3. Wisconsin, 6:04.81
Wisconsin 3V Lineup: Ian Tunney (cox), Evan Miller, Jacob Buboltz, Theodore Boesen, Jacob Hurlbutt, Benjamin Waller, Taylor Steeno, Philipp Bogdanov, Christoph Bub
Wisconsin 1F Lineup: James Catalano (cox), Paul Sagraves, Adam Wehking, Caleb Sorenson, Tyler Berstein, Luke VandenHeuvel, Samuel Williams, John Young, Matthew Palmer

Fourth Varsity Eight  
1. Wisconsin, 6:11.70; 2. Minnesota, 6:12.46;
Wisconsin Lineup: Arthur Condor (cox), Spencer Waldron, Parker Brooks, Jack Shelton, Henry Roberts, Samuel Wheeler, Chase Covey, Timothy Glennon, Will Klauke

Fifth Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:35.74; 2. Minnesota, 6:43.77
Wisconsin Lineup: Jefferson Chan (cox), Steve Knopp, Tim Zogleman, Matthew Marcou, William Tuttle, Derek Sachs, Logan Morehouse, John Young, Matthew Palmer

Novice Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:21.37; 2. Minnesota, 6:28.68
Wisconsin Lineup: David Espino (cox), Paul Dustman, Henry Dern, Evan Sadlon, William Tuttle, Matthew Marcou, Logan Morehouse, Daniel McGarry, Matthew Bernard

Second Novice Eight:
1. Wisconsin, 6:37.83; 2. Minnesota, 7:03.18
Wisconsin Lineup: Matthew Wittwer (cox), Chrispin Kenney, Carson Gehl, Carson McFarland, Nathaniel Verhagen, Benjamin Meyer, Jonathan Kilen, Mason Hill, Blake Richter

Varsity Four "A":
1. Minnesota A, 7:00.0; 1. Wisconsin A, 7:00.0; 1.MSOE A, 7:00.0; 1. Minnesota B, 7:00.0
Wisconsin Lineup: Arthur Condor (cox), Parker Brooks, Jack Shelton, Henry Roberts, Timothy Glennon

Varsity Four "B":
1. Wisconsin B, 6:48.19; 2. Minnesota C, 7:05.24; 3. MSOE B, 7:26.76; 4. Minnesota D, 7:30.73; 5. Minnesota E, 7:36.89
Wisconsin Lineup: Kaz Kishiue-Koval (cox), Spencer Waldron, Chase Covey, Tim Zogleman, Will Klauke, 

Novice Four A:
1. Wisconsin A, 7:15.71; 2. Minnesota A, 7:19.71; 3. Wisconsin B, 7:24.64; 4. Minnesota B, 7:30.63
Wisconsin A Lineup: David Espino (cox), Henry Dern, Evan Sadlon, Matthew Bernard, Daniel McGarry
Wisconsin B Lineup: Matthew Wittwer (cox), Carson McFarland, Carson Gehl, Benjamin Meyer, Nathaniel Verhagen

Novice Four B:
1. Wisconsin C, 7:15.91; 2. Minnesota C, 7:22.35; 3. Wisconsin D, 7:32.14; 4. Minnesota D, 7:59.69
Wisconsin C Lineup: Lucas Ratanawong (cox), Paul Dustman, Jonathan Kilen, Mason Hill, Blake Richter
Wisconsin D Lineup: Kevin Reed, Chrispin Kenney, Joseph Ramage, Nicholas Mohrdieck, Zachary Ferris