This past weekend, all three Yale crew teams — the heavyweights, the lightweights and the women — made the trip down to Princeton, New Jersey, to compete in the Princeton Chase. The heavyweight varsity eight claimed a second-place finish while the lightweights and the women each finished in third in their respective varsity eights. Meanwhile, the lightweight varsity four boat was the highlight of the weekend, emerging victorious in its race on Sunday.
All teams competed on Lake Carnegie, completing a three-mile course against collegiate rivals to finish up the fall racing season.
HEAVYWEIGHTS TAKE SECOND
Following a record-setting victory at the Head of the Charles regatta only two weeks earlier, the Yale heavyweight varsity eight came in second to home-team Princeton on Sunday. The A boat completed the course in 13:02, trailing the first place spot by nearly five seconds. The Yale B and C boats took 15th and 16th place, respectively. The heavyweights did not enter any fours into competition.
Heavyweight captain Hubert Trzybinski ’16 noted that the team was not fully satisfied by the race on Sunday, but said he was still happy with the team’s overall fall season.
“We have identified the areas that we need to work on and are looking forward to winter training in the coming months,” Trzybinski said. “We can look back on a successful fall season and are in a good position for going into the spring.”
With a few weeks left before the harsh New England winter moves training indoors, the senior leader noted the importance of taking advantage of the current weather. He mentioned that the team’s focus will be on improving its strength and endurance over the winter months ahead of the spring sprint season.
VICTORY IN THE LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR
The lightweight team entered three eights and four fours into competition at Princeton. The varsity eight came away with a third-place finish in 13:42, just 4.5 seconds off of the first-place Cornell boat and three seconds behind the host Tigers. The second Yale boat finished in 11th place in 14:08, followed by the Elis’ C boat in 12th with a time of 14:11.
But the lone Yale victory of the weekend came from the varsity lightweight four. Coxswain Eli Block ’16 and rowers Austin Velte ’16, William Harrington ’18, Brendan Kelleher ’17 and William Van Fossen ’17 completed the race — the second of the day across all competition — in 15:14, more than 10 seconds faster than the second-place Cornell four. The Yale B four came in 10th, followed by the D crew in 13th and the C boat in 22nd in the 31-team event.
“The Chase is a great regatta because we have the whole team throwing down together. We had a good day as a team and we’re especially proud of the depth we showed with our third eight having an awesome run down the course,” Velte, the team’s captain, said. “We have a solid foundation here, so we’re excited to start preparing for spring racing.”
WOMEN CLOSE SEASON WITH STRONG RACE
The Yale women also entered three eights into competition on Lake Carnegie this past Sunday. The varsity boat ultimately claimed third place with a time of 15:51, beating rival Princeton, who took fourth, by over two seconds. The varsity boat was bested only by Virginia and Brown, which both finished the course more than 10 seconds faster than the Yale A boat.
“It was a great way to cap off our fall season,” head coach Will Porter said. “This team has so much potential to grow through the winter and we are excited to get inside and start training toward next spring.”
The Yale B and C boats also performed strongly, finishing in the top quarter of the 65–boat field. The B crew finished in seventh place with a time of 15:07 and the C boat finished in 14th with a time of 15:26, ahead of the varsity crews of Ivy foes Penn and Dartmouth.
Captain Colleen Maher ’16 was especially proud of the depth the team demonstrated in closing out the fall season.
“All [three] boats had a strong race at Princeton,” Maher said. “There is always room to grow, but we feel proud of how we approached the racing … I think our team has a lot of good energy, and we have a lot of fun working hard together.”
Yale was the only school to place in the top three in each of the varsity eight competitions at the Chase, at which all eight Ivy programs were represented.