Yale Athletics
All three Yale crew teams dominated on the water this past weekend, triumphing in 11 of 12 races in Cambridge, Princeton and at home.
The No. 6 Yale women’s crew claimed its sixth consecutive Nathaniel Case Cup, defeating Harvard’s No. 16 Radcliffe crew and No. 13 Southern California. The No. 1 lightweight team completed its final home race of the season with a sweep over Dartmouth for its fourth consecutive Loyal Durand III Cup and the No. 2 heavyweight team won three of four races against Princeton and Cornell to secure its fourth consecutive Carnegie Cup.
Heavyweight Crew
Yale’s fourth consecutive victory in the Carnegie Cup event, now in its 96th year, matches Yale’s longest win streak , which lasted from 1923 to 1926.
“Yesterday’s win in the Carnegie Cup was one of the most satisfying in my Yale rowing career for a number of reasons,” captain Robert Hurn ’17 said. “It made me brim with pride to see all of our top three boats defeat Princeton in such an emphatic style.”
Yale’s first Varsity Eight crew fought against a tough head wind and finished its race with a 5:49.2 time, beating the Tigers and Big Red by seven and 16 seconds, respectively. Both the second and third Varsity boats also achieved comfortable wins over their Ivy League opponents: The second Varsity Eight finished its race nearly six seconds ahead of Princeton, while the third Varsity Eight topped the Tigers by more than a boat length. The Elis only relinquished their first-place position in the fourth Varsity Eight, its 6:16.4 time trailing Princeton’s 6:05.9 and Cornell’s 6:11.2 marks.
“For myself and Oliver Wynne-Griffith ’17, this victory capped off four years of undefeated regular season dual races in the first varsity,” Hurn said. “[This is] a record I would never have imagined coming here as a freshman.”
Next Sunday, the Elis will race at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Massachusetts, as they look to retain their Ivy League title.
Lightweight Crew
The Yale lightweight crew team swept all three races against Dartmouth on the Housatonic to win the Loyal Durand III Cup for the fourth consecutive year.
After an umpire launch malfunction curtailed the initial running of the Varsity Eight race, Yale remained unfazed in its quest for an undefeated season, besting Dartmouth’s 5:54.0 time with a 5:42.1 run.
The second Varsity Eight crew also defended its undefeated status, crushing the Big Green by a 16-second margin and the third Varsity Eight followed suit with a win of its own. The Bulldogs have taken home the Durand Cup every season since 2011–12, before which Dartmouth enjoyed two victories.
This past weekend’s race also marked the last Yale home competition this spring, making it the last race on home waters for rowers in the class of 2017.
“The Durand Cup, like every other race, is something we relish competing for,” captain Noah Baily ’17 said. “It’s another step in the process though. Just like the week before and the week we have ahead of us, we have to earn every single victory, and we’ll carry that work ethic forward as we look to the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Regatta this weekend.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Boston next Saturday to conclude their regular season racing for the Goldthwait and Vogel Cups.
Women’s Crew
The Bulldogs swept all five races in which they competed this past Saturday. Though the team traveled to the Charles River to race against Radcliffe, a longtime rival, it faced an additional opponent to their Ivy League competition as USC joined the race. Yale defeated Radcliffe for the sixth straight year, preserving its stronghold on the Nathaniel Case Cup.
Yale’s Varsity Eight boat finished with a time of 6:19.0 to beat USC’s 6:21.6 and Radcliffe’s 6:33.9, bouncing back after falling to Princeton last weekend.
“We fought some really tough races this weekend,” said captain Kate O’Brien ’17, who rowed in the Varsity Eight shell. “It’s encouraging to see our training pay off, and being in hot races like this is really going to help us going forward into six boat races in a few weeks.”
Yale’s second Varsity Eight defended its undefeated season status. The second boat faced a tight race against the Crimson, but its 6:31.2 time edged out the Crimson’s 6:32.1 and comfortably defeated the Trojans’ 6:50.3.
Both four-rower crews also made it through with no losses, keeping their perfect seasons intact. The Varsity Four race, the last of the day that featured all three schools, saw Yale win by one- and 17-second margins over USC and Harvard, respectively. The Bulldogs faced off against the Crimson only in the second Varsity Four race, and comfortably cruised to a 14-second triumph over their conference rival. The third Varsity Eight race was the closest of the day’s competition, as the Bulldog boat edged out the Crimson by 0.3 seconds to maintain its perfect record.
In addition to retaining the Nathaniel Case Cup, Yale also earned Harvard-Yale-Princeton titles in second Varsity Eight, both Varsity Four boats and the third Varsity Eight.
The Elis will compete against Brown on home waters next Saturday to conclude their regular season before traveling for the Ivy League Championship regatta on May 14.
Will Horvath contributed reporting.