On Saturday, No. 13 Yale women’s crew hosted No. 19 Dartmouth, Boston University and No. 16 Cornell for its first home races of the spring season on the Housatonic River in Derby, Conn.

Though Yale’s varsity eight fell in both its races, the second varsity eight, second varsity four and third varsity eight boats each earned two victories. The varsity four split its two races, defeating BU and Dartmouth in the morning before being edged by Cornell in the afternoon.

“I think many of our boats had solid performances,” Cathy McDermott ’12 said.

The Bulldogs started the day by facing off against Dartmouth and Boston University and notched victories in four out of five races.

The closest race of the day came in the varsity eight race. Yale and Dartmouth both clocked in at 6:22.8, while BU finished in 6:28.0. Because the race was too close to call, the officials had to use a video review to determine the winner. After reviewing the tape, the referees awarded the race and the Class of 1985 Cup to the Big Green. It was the first time Dartmouth had won the Cup since 1998.

“We had to look at the tape multiple times,” head coach Will Porter said. “It was very difficult to determine the winner of that race. I think it was fair. It was a matter of inches, but based on our limited technology at the boathouse, I think the right call was made.”

In the second varsity eight race, the Elis took first place by crossing the line at 6:25.5, while Dartmouth and BU finished at 6:31.4 and 6:42.3, respectively.

Yale’s varsity four, second varsity four and third varsity eight boats all put on dominant performances and captured their races by more than ten seconds.

“As a team we raced well,” Porter said. “Beating Dartmouth and Boston University in four out of the five races was a good performance for us.”

Though windy conditions delayed racing against Cornell for about two hours, the Elis took to the water for a second time to face the Big Red in the afternoon. In the varsity eight race, the Big Red edged Yale by nearly three seconds to take the Cayuga Cup for the second consecutive year.

“The outcomes of our races were disappointing but provided feedback on areas we need to work on moving forward,” said captain Kathleen O’Keefe ’12, who raced in the varsity eight.

Cornell’s varsity four also bested the Elis by a six-second margin to take the race and earn another win for the Big Red.

Still, Yale’s second varsity eight notched its second win of the day by finishing 0.3 seconds ahead of the Big Red. The Elis also defeated Cornell in the second varsity four and third varsity eight races. Yale’s second varsity four enjoyed a nearly 17-second margin of victory, while the third varsity eight finished 0.6 seconds ahead of Cornell.

“I thought we raced well in our lower boats,” Porter said. “Our varsity is still working to put together a full race.”

The Bulldogs will battle for the Eisenberg Cup this Saturday when they travel to New Jersey to face Princeton and the University of Southern California.