BOSTON — The Dreissigacker Cup will return to Boston following the Northeastern men's varsity eight victory over Brown on Saturday afternoon in Providence, R.I. The Huskies, ranked sixth in the latest USRowing Collegiate Poll, led from start to finish and defeated fourth-ranked Brown by four-tenths of a second to claim the cup. NU also was victorious in the varsity four race.

The Northeastern varsity led wire-to-wire in a battle between two of the nation's top crews. Brown won the prestigious Eastern Sprints a season ago and placed second at the 2012 IRA National Championship.

The Huskies established an early advantage, but never by more than five seats in the tightly-contested varsity race. Through the 1000-meter mark, Brown used a strong move and increased its cadence to close the margin. Northeastern, though, repelled and limited the Bears' gain to only a seat or two. At 1300 meters, Brown again increased its rate but made little change in the margin. Both crews again increased their cadence at 600 meters to maintain the margin through the finish, with NU claiming victory. The Red and Black completed the Seekonk River course in 5:26.1, with Brown four-tenths of a second behind at 5:26.5.

The win returns the Dreissigacker Cup to Henderson Boathouse for the 21st time, and the first time since 2005. Brown maintains a slight 28-21 lead in the all-time series, which has been rowed uninterrupted since 1965. Northeastern, though, has won five of the last 12 races in the tightly-contested rivalry between the New England foes.

In the second varsity race, Brown crossed the line in 5:43.3, followed by the Brown freshmen at 5:48.2, and Northeastern at 5:48.3. Brown pushed out to an early lead over NU, taking a deck lead at 500 meters. The Bears led by four seats at the 1200-meter mark and extended the lead over the final 800 meters.

In the third varsity race, it was the Huskies who staked out the early lead, establishing an eight-seat margin at 1000 meters. NU relinquished the lead at the 1200-meter mark when Brown made a big, 20-stroke move. Entering the final 500 meters, the crews traded the lead, but the Bears used their momentum to capture the win. Brown finished with a time of 5:49.2, ahead of NU's 5:52.2.

The Northeastern varsity four led wire-to-wire in the day's first race to walk to a 9.6-second margin of victory. The Huskies posted a time of 6:55.9, with Brown clocking in at 7:05.3.

Northeastern now is 5-0 on the season and Huskies crews are an impressive 17-2 in all races in 2013. Last weekend, NU swept crosstown rival Boston University in four races. The Huskies' victory in the varsity eight race returned the Arlett Cup to Henderson Boathouse for the 11th time in the last 13 years. The Red and Black also swept George Washington, Georgetown, and Pennsylvania in the season's opening weekend.

Northeastern will travel to Mercer, N.J., on May 1 to row against the USRowing Princeton Training Center, then will return to regular competition on Saturday, May 4, against Harvard in the annual rowing of the Smith Cup.


SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Varsity 8:
Northeastern - 5:26.1
Brown - 5:26.5

Second Varsity 8:
Brown JV - 5:43.3
Brown Freshmen - 5:48.2
Northeastern - 5:48.3

Third Varsity:
Brown - 5:49.2
Northeastern - 5:52.2

Varsity 4+:
Northeastern - 6:55.9
Brown - 7:05.3


SATURDAY'S LINEUPS
Varsity eight
C: Connor Wortley; S: Justin Jones; 7: Trevor Weaser; 6: Cameron Buchan; 5: Max Montpetit; 4: Kyle Erlandson; 3: Sean Crowley; 2: Riordan Morrell; B: Tyler Underhill

Second varsity
C: Zachary Williamson; S: Eric Jackson; 7: Daniel Corso; 6: Svetislav Pejcic; 5: Steve Komadoski; 4: Erik Wessel; 3: Alexander Greene; 2: Colin Schaap; B: Dale Jordan

Third varsity
C: Les Kernan; S: Matej Herega; 7: Francisco Mendes; 6: Jack Stein; 5: Eric Winkert; 4: Olivier McNicoll; 3: Gregory Burke; 2: Bill Tomlinson; B: Matthew Kuczmarski

Varsity four
C: Raphaela Putz; S: Greg Snyder; Michael Barnes; Kevin Meador; John Rectenwald