Crews finish with Foot race

It was hard to miss. A month ago, hordes of onlookers lined the bank of the Charles River. Thousands of the world's finest rowers came to compete against one another.

But only a choice few of the area's collegiate rowers had the opportunity to row in the Head of the Charles Regatta, Boston's annual competition widely recognized as one of the world's premier rowing events. So in response, Boston's most prestigious college coaches decided to create the Foot of the Charles.

"[The Foot of the Charles exists] to give crews that don't race in the Head of the Charles a chance to compete," said Boston University women's crew coach Holly Hatton.

BU, Harvard University, Northeastern University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology coaches run the yearly event, which focuses on freshmen rowers.

And the Terrier men's and women's crew teams made strong showings in last weekend's event - their final fall competition. The men's team raced four Varsity Fours and three Novice Eights, while the women sent out five Varsity Fours and three Novice Eights.

The freshmen men took fifth, 12th and 17th out of 25 Novice Eight boats. The Harvard and Brown University freshmen finished first and second, respectively, with Northeastern placing third and fourth.

Three of the BU men's four varsity boats finished in the top 15, with the 'A' boat taking third. Harvard dominated the race, placing two boats in the top four. Brown's 'A' boat took second.

The men's performance concluded a successful fall campaign. This year, the Terriers' Varsity Heavyweight boat won the 2005 Russell S. Callow Award, and men's coach Rodney Pratt was named Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Coach of the Year.

Placing sixth, 11th and 19th out of 24 Novice Eights, the freshmen women turned in a solid performance of their own. Although they only have two rowers on scholarship, the freshmen raced against many experienced and recruited rowers.

"Some [BU] kids learned to row two months ago. Other schools have top recruits," Hatton said.

Because of this, Hatton said that she and novice coach Heather Cartwright are both "pleased with the progress" the novice team made this fall.

BU's varsity women also found success over the weekend, placing third, fourth and 10th out of 28 Varsity Fours. Other BU women's boats took 14th and 25th. Brown and Northeastern tied for first.

Hatton's said she's "encouraged" by the fall.

"[The Foot of the Charles] was a great team showing," Hatton added. "Going into the season, we looked to increase the depth of our team. We've done that. It shows, as we were competitive against top schools."