It was business as usual for the women’s crew on Saturday in Boston. Yale boats earned a sweep for the third time this season, taking all five races over Boston University and Dartmouth and retaining the Class of 1985 Cup for the 10th straight season.
In keeping with the dominance the Bulldogs have maintained so far this season, the varsity four boat won an emphatic 24-second victory over the Terriers. The novice eight also turned in an impressive victory, finishing nearly 20 seconds ahead of their Ivy League rival the Big Green, and the second varsity boat followed suit, cruising to a 13-second win. As usual, the Yale B and C boats took first and second in the second varsity four race.
The nation’s top-ranked varsity eight boat also won convincingly, but with a smaller margin of victory than in previous races. Having won the season’s first two races by more than 10 seconds each, their five-second victory Saturday was a test of the Bulldogs’ mettle but a test they nevertheless passed with flying colors.
“We knew going into the weekend that our race on the Charles would be trying — we were aware that BU and Dartmouth showed speed the weekend before,” captain Christina Person ’09 said. “Still, we held strong together and made our push early to get out front and that is where we finished.”
The Charles River posed as much of a challenge to the Yale boats Saturday as did competition from the Terriers and Big Green. With an 11 mph tailwind and a mild chop, conditions were less than ideal for the Bulldogs.
“This has been a tough spring in the Northeast,” coach Will Porter said. “The weather was questionable again this weekend on the Charles River. It was cold, wet and windy, but we were able to get the races off.”
Looking forward, the Bulldogs know challenges like these are a part of their development.
“We need to get a bit faster each week in order to be where we will need to be by the Eastern Sprints,” Porter said. “I think this team has a good sense of where they want to be and when.”
The Bulldogs now look to rival Princeton as Yale hosts its first home race Saturday on the Housatonic.