The Northeastern women's rowing team defeated Boston University and the University of Louisville over a 2,000-meter course on the Charles River in the first round of the Fifth Annual Charles River Challenge on Saturday. Tomorrow, the Huskies will row Dartmouth, Radcliffe and Ohio State.

The Huskies faced poor conditions over the 2000 meter course but finished in 6:41.9, ahead of BU at 6:48.5, and Lousiville at 6:52.4.

Northeastern took a length lead at the 500 meter mark and upped that lead to a length and a half by 1,000 with BU and the Cardinals even. At 1,500 meters BU moved out on Louisville but Northeastern defended its margin to the finish.

In the 2nd Varsity race with all boats even at 1,500, NU caught a snag due to the fierce tailwind that brought them to a halt and led to their third place finish.

Northeastern posted a win in the 3rd Varsity race, crossing the line in 7:06.0. Louisville finished second with a time of 7:15.6, while BU was third at 7:20.9.

In the Varsity 4 race, Northeastern capitalized on a good start and finished 4.5 seconds ahead of the Terriers and 24.5 ahead of Louisville.

The Huskies will be back on the Charles tomorrow morning for a four way race with Dartmouth, Radcliffe and Ohio State.

Charles River Challenge 4/16/2011 Results

Varsity: Northeastern 6:41.9, Boston University 6:48.5, Louisville 6:52.4
2nd Varisty: Louisville 6:55.8, Boston University 7:01.5, Northeastern7:06.6
3rd Varsity: Northeastern7:06.0, Louisville7:15.6, Boston University 7:20.9
Varsity 4: Northeastern 7:37.2, Boston University 7:41.7, Louisville 8:14.7


Northeastern Women's Rowing Boatings

Varsity Eight
cox, Rachel Buff; 8, Greta Haselmann; 7, Laura Carroll; 6, Veronica Townsend; 5, Jen Forbes; 4, Katie Ward; 3, Olivia Blake; 2, Luisa Maldonado; 1, Nadine Pozzobon

2nd Varsity 8
cox, Lauren Todd; 8, Katherine Halbig; 7, Clare Samuelson; 6, Erin Baker; 5, Amanda Brem; 4, Justine Lowe; 3, Kathryn Conway; 2, Laurence Mercier-Lafond; 1, Corrine Austin

3rd Varsity 8
cox, Leslie Montag; 8, Lauren Herdt; 7, Margaret Bergson; 6, Christina Bivona; 5, Elise Miner; 4, Stephanie Kley; 3, Kelsey Mancini; 2, Hannah Andrew; 1, Sarah Giancola

Varsity 4
cox, Lauren Terris; 4, Johanna Duff; 3, Grace Schwartz; 2, Kelsey Flynn; 1, Liz Biddle