Yale Athletics

Off the heels of impressive performances against Ohio State, Rutgers and Michigan in New Jersey two weeks ago, Yale’s women’s crew team proved its dominance in the Cayuga Cup this past weekend in Saratoga Springs. Even their narrowest win, 6.71 seconds in the 3V8, was enough to leave open water between the Elis and their opponents.

The Cup, named after Cornell’s home course on the Cayuga Inlet, has become a hallmark of Yale’s early-season racing. Since 2003, Yale, Syracuse and Cornell have contended for the Cayuga Cup 12 times. The trophy has spent 11 of those years in New Haven, with a one-year stint in Ithaca in 2011.

Though Saturday brought constant rain and cross headwinds of up to 15 mph, the Bulldogs delivered. Their dominance, despite the harsh conditions, stands as a testament to their consistency and composure — strategies that put 12.12 seconds of river between Yale’s and Syracuse’s first varsities, compared to less than a second in the same race last year.

Team captain and first varsity rower Mia Levy ’25 expressed pride in the team’s performance under adverse weather conditions. 

“I’m really proud of how the team performed in tough conditions and pushed for big margins over our opponents,” Levy said to the News. “Looking forward, we are hoping to keep finding more speed as we stay focused on our championship season.”

Next weekend, Yale will challenge Dartmouth for the Class of 1985 Cup for this season’s first and only home race in Derby. This will be the Bulldog’s first dual season head race against the Big Green since 2022, when Yale crossed the finish line more than 35 seconds before Dartmouth.

Reflecting on the weekend, head coach Will Porter said to Yale Athletics, “We are making progress. We hit our focus on all boats. It was a good effort in tough conditions.”

Women’s crew began at Yale in 1972.