Boston University women’s rowing team practicing on the Charles River April 18. The program is in search of its fourth title Friday in Pennsauken, N.J. Photos by BU Athletics

Athletics

Women’s Rowing Aiming for Second Consecutive Patriot League Title

Conference championship meet is Friday in New Jersey

The Boston University women’s rowing team has one goal: be faster than the day before.

The Terriers are entering the Patriot League Championship on Friday with a sense of confidence, having won their third conference title in four years last season and coming off this year’s strong spring campaign. 

“This spring has been a good season for us so far, and we are not ready to have it end this weekend,” says captain Audrey Lucerne (Sargent’25). “This one race defines the whole year of training for us, which brings some inherent pressure, but also a lot of excitement to see how our team stacks up.”

On Friday, the Terriers will race on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J., for the league championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Rowing Championship. 

Last season BU won the league title with a sweep in the meet’s grand finals, earning 54 points. It was the Terriers’ first league title since 2022. Malcolm Doldron, director of women’s rowing, was named Patriot League Coach of the Year as well.

“The win last year was reassurance that the work we put in each day was effective,” Lucerne says. “Not a practice goes by when we are not reminding each other of our goal of winning Patriot League again. We recognize what worked last year, but we realize we must also be better.”

Preparation for this year’s league championship began immediately after the team won last year’s title, she says. The rowers have been training since last summer and fall and are now fine-tuning their race plan, cleaning up their technique, and preparing mentally.

Lucerne points to Ingrid Eshuis (CAS’27), Lydia Pelton (Questrom’27), and Liv Bencze (ENG’27) as rowers to watch out for this weekend. The three raced in the Varsity 8 boat last season and “know what the Patriot League win feels like,” she says. 

The freshman class, among them Gigi Williams (CAS’28), Raylynn Boston (CAS’28), Sotiria Angou (CAS’28), and Sarah Stacey (CAS’28), are also expected to play a key role in the quest for the conference title. 

BU’s first Varsity 8 boat won Patriot League Women’s Rowing Boat of the Week twice this season. The Terriers earned the honor in early April after a second place finish and 6:27.1 time in a race against Dartmouth, Northeastern, and MIT. The Varsity 8 boat took the honor again May 4 when it finished first in the Eastern Sprints petite final, with a time of 7:01.958.

The Varsity 4 Grand Final is at 2:20 pm at Friday’s league championship, followed by the Varsity 8 Grand Final at 2:40 pm. While the Varsity 8 boat makes up the most points, Lucerne says that every boat matters this weekend. 

“Effort is never in question for this team,” she says. “To win the Patriot League, we need to execute our race plans effectively and utilize our efforts efficiently in each stroke.”

Lucerne’s response when asked what makes this year’s team special: “Strong women united by a demanding goal is special in itself.”

She also says her “teammates inspire me in how they embrace the sacrifices required to be an athlete at this level. The program has evolved because of the women before us, the current seniors leading the way this year, and the ambitious underclassmen.”

The Women’s Rowing Patriot League Championship is Friday, May 16, on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J. Live results will be tracked here. Follow BU women’s rowing on X @TerrierWROW. Find the complete racing schedule here.