BOSTON — The No. 10 Wisconsin men's rowing team began a three-race weekend by battling No. 6 Boston University Saturday morning on the Charles River, then racing No. 3 Northeastern in the evening. They finished the weekend Sunday morning, taking on No. 4 Syracuse. 

A sunny day on the river and a slight current helped increase the rowers' speed on Saturday morning. The varsity eight boat was the only Badger boat to come out victorious against the Terriers in three close races. The Badgers' varsity eight finished with a time of 6:17.35, only .04 seconds before BU with an official time of 6:17.39. This was the best finish of the day for both teams. 

Wisconsin's second varsity eight barely missed a first-place finish, finishing less than a second behind the Terriers. The Badgers recorded a time of 6:39.35 to the Terriers with 6:38.59. 

The final race between the schools was between the third varsity eight boats. Despite finishing just under four seconds behind BU, the Badgers had their second best finish of the morning with a time of 6:38.51. 

Saturday evening, UW dropped three races to Northeastern, with the closest the third varsity eight, which dropped its battle by just 0.6 seconds.

Sunday morning, the Badgers also dropped three races to Syracuse, but battled hard. The closest finish was by the first varsity eight, just four seconds slower than Syracuse' fastest boat.

UW won the "Sword of a Thousand Truths," awarded to the team that stepped out of their comfort zone and had the most inspired racing, regardless of the results. 

Up Next: The Badgers will travel to West Windsor, New Jersey, to compete in the IRA National Championships on Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29. 

Straight from the Lake
Head Coach Chris Clark

BU Racing
"The varsity race was a barn burner but we held off BU by about a foot over the 1.25 mile course. BU is always good for a finishing push while that's probably our weakest area. That skill comes from experience and racing so we should improve on that. 

"Our eight has five kids who first began rowing at Wisconsin. Of the three who had high school experience, two are frosh. This is the profile we seek but can't always get. To be good enough to be competitive in a varsity eight as a novice walk-on takes special athletes and even though we have a big squad and a large student body, it's has been years since we've had this and it's not for the lack of trying.

"Our second varsity had a great race too. BU was a little too much in the sprint this time and they overtook us in the last 50 meters. They too will learn to finish. That boat is stroked by Josh Wehking, the younger brother of Adam Wehking, our varsity stroke.

"The third varsity was very competitive too. BU slowly moved out and got us by a length or so. That boat is populated by guys who've virtually never raced so it's a good start."

On the weekend
"We're such a raw group. Every single race and competition is brand new and you need to sustain it. They figured it out yesterday against Northeastern. I thought the first eight race was terrific against Syracuse. They really haven't been pressed all year, and our guys went out and attacked it.

On the Sword
"We haven't had the sword in quite a few years. It's representative that just because you don't win a race doesn't mean you didn't do something that was outstanding. That first race was outstanding today and for the young guys it was a big step forward."

Wisconsin vs. Boston University
May 1, 2021 - Morning
Boston, Massachusetts
Charles River
2,000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:16.35 ; 2. Boston University, 6:17.39
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain James Catalano, Adam Wehking, Breck Duncan, Edward Brody, Galen Quinn, Garrison Waugh, Joseph Cleary, Isaac Krahn, Dylan Green

Second Varsity Eight
1. Boston University, 6:38.59 ; 2. Wisconsin, 3:39.35
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain David Espino, Josh Wehking, Lorenzo Miller, Jack Hendrickson, Matthew Bernard, Joseph French, Michael Horan, John Young, Matthew Palmer

Third Varsity Eight
1. Boston University, 6:34.82 ; 2. Wisconsin, 6:38.51
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain Jonah Rane, Henry Dern, Olin Frederiks, William Russell, Aidan Schmidt, Joshua Barth, Samuel Crowley, Alex Marett, Jeremy Falstad

Wisconsin vs. Northeastern
May 1, 2021 - Evening
Boston, Massachusetts
Charles River
2,000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Northeastern, 6:18.3; 2. Wisconsin, 6:27.8
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain James Catalano, Adam Wehking, Breck Duncan, Edward Brody, Galen Quinn, Garrison Waugh, Joseph Cleary, Isaac Krahn, Dylan Green

Second Varsity Eight
1. Northeastern, 6:30.4; 2. Wisconsin, 6:40.1
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain David Espino, Josh Wehking, Lorenzo Miller, Jack Hendrickson, Matthew Bernard, Joseph French, Michael Horan, John Young, Matthew Palmer

Third Varsity Eight
1. Northeastern, 6:32.9; 2. Wisconsin, 6:33.5
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain Jonah Rane, Henry Dern, Olin Frederiks, William Russell, Aidan Schmidt, Joshua Barth, Samuel Crowley, Alex Marett, Jeremy Falstad

Wisconsin vs. Syracuse
May 2, 2021 - Morning
Boston, Massachusetts
Charles River
2,000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Syracuse, 6:17.3; 2. Wisconsin, 6:21.3
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain James Catalano, Adam Wehking, Breck Duncan, Edward Brody, Dylan Green, Garrison Waugh, Joseph Cleary, Isaac Krahn, Jack Hendrickson

Second Varsity Eight
1. Syracuse, 6:22.7; 2. Wisconsin, 6:30.0
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain David Espino, Josh Wehking, Lorenzo Miller, Galen Quinn, Matthew Bernard, Joseph French, Michael Horan, John Young, Matthew Palmer

Varsity Four
1. Syracuse, 7:33.0; 2. Wisconsin B, 7:43.9; 3. Wisconsin, 7:47.9 
Wisconsin Lineup: Coxswain Jonah Rane, Henry Dern, Olin Frederiks, Joshua Barth, Aidan Schmidt
Wisconsin B-Lineup: Coxswain James Catalano, William Russell, Jeremy Falstad, Samuel Crowley, Alex Marett