 "Photo: Caleb Miller")
After six weekends of rowing at home on Lady Bird Lake, the Longhorns head upstream this weekend to compete in the Charles River Challenge in Boston.
The annual two-day regatta features a handful of the best teams in the nation, including four teams ranked in the top 20 of the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll. Brown, Harvard, Notre Dame and Northeastern are ranked 11th, 13th, 17th and 19th, respectively, while Boston, Gonzaga and Texas all received votes. Dartmouth and Syracuse round out the rest of the field.
"All the crews competing are good crews with solid teams," coach Carie Graves said. "Boston University looks to be our speed."
This weekend will mark the first intercollegiate regatta for the Longhorns this spring. They have competed in dual-style races up until this point but will race against three crews simultaneously this weekend.
The Longhorns have been without two of their top freshmen, varsity standouts Jelena Zunic and Tajana Lovric, due to injuries. There is an outside chance of both returning this weekend, but both will likely have to rest another week.
"We are looking forward to them coming back," Graves said. "But we've been doing fine without them so far."
The Longhorns are coming off a blowout loss to Cal in which they were swept in all four races. The loss snapped a six-regatta winning streak and the first varsity eight boat's perfect record.
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