Yale Daily News

On Saturday, the women’s crew raced Princeton at Gilder Boathouse and the heavyweight and lightweight crews traveled to Philadelphia to compete against Penn and Columbia. 

In their first home race of the spring, the No. 3 women’s team won four of five races against No. 4 Princeton and secured the Black and Brown Cup. Meanwhile, the men’s crews faced Penn and Columbia in Philadelphia, with heavyweights securing the Blackwell and Colgan Cups for the 11th consecutive time and lightweights taking home the Dodge Cup and sweeping all three races.  

“All boats faced a great challenge this weekend and we are absolutely looking forward to more,” Anna Scott ’23, who rowed in the second varsity eight, wrote in an email to the News. “Heading into the weekend, we kept our foot on the gas and will do so until our [Ivy] championships on May 15. Each checkpoint along the way, including this last weekend, is an opportunity to learn and build and prepare for future challenges.”

At Gilder, the women’s crew competed in five races, championing four of them. The second varsity eight won by more than four seconds, clocking in a 6:27.0 victory over Princeton’s 6:31.9. In a greater margin of victory, the varsity four finished nearly seven seconds before the Tigers, with a final time of 7:03.4. The Elis also won the second varsity four and the third varsity eight, where they secured the Black and Brown Cup. Because Princeton overtook Yale by a margin of two seconds in the varsity eight race, they captured the Eisenberg Cup. 

Scott highlighted the “incredibly exciting energy building” in Derby and how special it is to be a part of the environment Yale crew has created at Gilder. 

In Philadelphia, the No. 1 heavyweights’ first and second varsity boats clocked in impressive victories, each coming in more than 25 seconds before their opponents. The third varsity eight also impressed with an 18 second margin of victory. From the results, the first and second varsity brought home the Blackwell and Colgan Cups, respectively. 

“There’s always stuff to work on,” Harry Keenan ’24, who coxed the second varsity eight, said. “We are just focused on getting better. You never get to the point in the sport where you are satisfied. There is still work to be done, and we can see that through watching the race replays.” 

Keenan noted the weather conditions during the race, which included a strong headwind and worsening water. These were a challenge for the crew — lengthening the race and making it more physically demanding. However, the race was a “great simulation” of upcoming competitions, since the regattas at the end of the spring season resemble such weather conditions, according to Keenan. 

The men’s lightweight crew defeated Penn and Columbia, sweeping all three races and capturing the Dodge Cup. 

In the morning, the third and fourth varsity crews competed in the same race after the 4V race was canceled. The crews took first and second place in the race. The second varsity clocked in an impressive 10-second victory over Columbia. In the final race of the day, the first varsity crew championed the worsening weather conditions and defeated Columbia with a 6.7 second margin and Penn with an 18.4 second margin. 

“It was a very dominant weekend for us,” senior captain Geoff Skelly ’22 wrote to the News. “Every crew showed up and showcased its speed in rough conditions. The 1V brought home the Dodge Cup for the first time since 2017.”

Next weekend, lightweights will travel to Hanover, where they will compete against Dartmouth for the Durand Cup. At Gilder, the women’s crew will host Radcliffe and Northeastern, while the heavyweights race Princeton and Cornell for the Carnegie Trophy.