Bucknell Rowing Places Second at Patriot League Championships

CHERRY HILL, Pa. – The Bucknell Varsity Eight pulled away from Boston University over the last 500 meters to secure silver medals and sew up a strong second-place team finish for the Bison at the 2021 Patriot League Championships on Friday on the Cooper River.

Bucknell's Second Varsity Eight also finished in second place while the Varsity Four was third by an eyelash, meaning all three boats took home medals for the second straight time at the Patriot League Championships. The Bison also grabbed second-place team honors for the second time in a row, finishing behind only Navy, which claimed the league title for the sixth straight time.

In sweeping all three races, Navy finished with the maximum 54 points, followed by Bucknell in second with 47 and Boston University in third with 43. Colgate (32), Holy Cross (28), Lehigh (26) and Loyola (19) rounded out the seven-team field.

Bucknell's Second Varsity Eight won its morning preliminary heat by six seconds over Boston University, and the Bison went into the final seeded second behind Navy. Those seeds held up in the final, although Bucknell held the lead for a stretch early in the race.

The Mids pulled ahead at about the halfway mark of the 2,000-meter race and held off the Bison by one boat length at the finish. Bucknell's time of 7:11.375 was just over four seconds behind Navy, and it was nine seconds faster than the Bison's prelim time. Third-place Boston University was eight seconds behind Bucknell.

The Bison and Terriers locked up in quite a battle for the silver medals in the Varsity Four final. The two boats were separated by only about one seat either way for most of the race, and in the end it was Boston University taking second by a mere .348 seconds. Navy won the Varsity Four in 7:40.074, followed by Boston University in 7:43.228 and Bucknell in 7:43.576. Holy Cross, Colgate and Loyola were all well behind.

Bucknell went into the Varsity Eight final one point ahead of Boston University for second place, and the Bison could have swiped the championship with a win and a Navy finish of third or worse.

Once again it was Navy, Bucknell and Boston University separating themselves from the pack. As the Mids began to pull ahead, the Bison and Terriers were again in a very tight race for second. But the Bison turned in a terrific final 500 meters to finish ahead of Boston University by just over a boat length.

Navy took the Varsity Eight in 6:34.638, followed by Bucknell in 6:37.386 and Boston University in 6:43.674. Bucknell's time in the final was 28 seconds better than its morning prelim, when the Bison finished behind Boston University in the second heat.

FINAL RESULTS
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Navy 54
2. Bucknell 47
3. Boston University 43
4. Colgate 32
5. Holy Cross 28
6. Lehigh 26
7. Loyola 19

BUCKNELL LINEUPS
V8
C. Juliette Gaggini
8. Natalie Kreusch
7. Erin Sullivan
6. Casey Miller
5. Caroline Brandt
4. Maddie Wickers
3. Olivia Zavrel
2. Elizabeth Berlinger
1. Caitlin Cobb

Varsity 8 Medals