The Terrier men's crew lost to Wisconin in the Terriers' spring regatta finale. Photo by Rob Klein.

The visiting Wisconsin Badgers took the lead at the 500-meter mark and never looked back en route to a win over the host Terriers in men's heavyweight rowing on the Charles River on Sunday (May 5, 2002). The victory gave the Badgers the Jablonic Cup, which is named after former legendary Wisconsin coach Randall Jablonic. The Badgers, who improved their record to 5-2, were timed in 5:53.3 over the 2000-meter course, while the Terriers, who closed out their spring regatta schedule with a 2-6 record, were clocked in 6:04.9. It was the best rowing conditions of the spring, as there was virtually no wind and still water. As a result, Wisconsin, which entered the weekend ranked fifth in the nation, turned in the fastest time of any collegiate crew on the Charles River this spring. Both the Badgers and Terriers got off to an excellent start as just one second separated the two boats through the first 500 meters. Unofficially, the Badgers were timed in 1:20, while the Terriers covered the first 500 in 1:21. At that point, Wisconsin, which had defeated host Dartmouth by just over 10 seconds on Saturday, made its move. By the 1000-meter mark, the Badgers had open water over the Terriers and rowed to nearly a four-length win. "I think if you look at our margin against Dartmouth two weeks ago (April 20th) and Wisconsin's margin against Dartmouth yesterday, you can see that we have made progress," said Terrier head coach Rodney Pratt. Two weeks ago, at Dartmouth, the Terriers lost to the Big Green by four seconds. On Sunday, the Terriers lost to Wisconsin by 9.6 seconds, while Wisconsin beat Dartmouth by just over 10 seconds. "We've picked up four seconds in two weeks," said Pratt. "I think that's pretty good. We still have to get faster for the Sprints," said the coach. The Terriers still have two weeks before the Sprints, which are scheduled for May 19th at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. The Badgers also won the second varsity race in 6:06.7 to 6:21.2. The Terriers' bright spot of the morning racing came in the first freshman race where they defeated the Badgers for the first time ever. B.U., which had upset Yale this past Wednesday (May 1st), enjoyed a 12-second win over the Badgers. B.U. was timed in 6:14.3 to 6:26.4. MIT, which had a boat entered in the event, was timed in 6:41.0. "That's a great performance for the freshmen," said Pratt. "They had a big win over Yale on Wednesday and came back today (Sunday) with their first win ever over Wisconsin. This certainly shows how good the future looks," concluded the coach. In the second freshman race, B.U. outrowed MIT, 6:41.6 to 7:17.8. Wisconsin did not have a boat entered.