The Bucknell Bison Men competed in Princeton, NJ this past Saturday, April 19th against Hobart College and Georgetown University on Lake Carnegie, home water of Princeton University. Weather conditions were clear with sunny skies and a strong headwind from the north at 12mph throughout most of the racing.
The first Bucknell Crew to compete was the Varsity 8+ against the likes of nationally ranked #20 Hobart College. The Bison Varsity struggled with the conditions from the start and was unable to develop a strong race rhythm, unable to challenge the Statesmen past the 500m mark – finishing with a final time of 6:46.4.
The next crew to compete was the 2nd Varsity, which encountered similar problems in the blustery conditions against the larger, heavier Hobart 2V that was able to pull away in the first 500m with the Bison finishing behind with a final time of 6:59.3.
The next race contested was a combination 4-boat race featuring the Georgetown 1F, Holy Cross 3V, Hobart 3V and Bucknell 1F. The Bison freshman fought for the lead in the first 800m with Sprints league powers from Georgetown and Holy Cross before falling off the pace to finish 3rd ahead of Hobart in 4th with a final time of 6:49.2.
Before the second round of varsity racing, the Bucknell Freshman 4+ faced off against the Holy Cross Varsity 4+, moving out to open water in the first 500 and pulling away for the win with a time of 7:58.
After a brief intermission, it was time for the Bucknell 2V to face Georgetown for their 2nd race of the afternoon. The Bison 2V got off to a much faster start and stayed even, fighting for the lead for the first 1000m before falling off the pace of the larger, more experienced Georgetown crew, finishing with a final time of 6:41.9.
The final race of the afternoon was between the Bison Varsity and Georgetown, the Bucknell Varsity fought hard throughout the race, even after Georgetown was able to move out to a length lead in the early stages, the Bison were able to hold margin for over 1000m, fighting to get back on terms before fading in the final 500m to finish with a time of 6:42.6.
The Bison Men will be in action again next weekend as they head to Massachusetts to compete against Williams College and College of the Holy Cross on April 26th and 27th.