Yale Athletics

The men’s heavyweight crew team headed to the Golden State this past weekend to race in the Redwood Shores Challenge against the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford.

In the two-day endeavor — with Saturday marked by windy conditions — the men’s varsity eight fell short of the Golden Bears in the weekend’s opening race, clocking a time of 6:09.5 against No. 1 California’s winning 5:59.2.

However, despite the initial setback, the Bulldogs quickly recovered to score three victories, with the varsity eight defeating the Cardinals and the second varsity boat triumphing over both No. 1 California and No. 8 Stanford.

On Sunday, the Elis continued their efforts but were unfortunately superseded in both their races. The California Rowing Club defeated the varsity eight, and the second varsity boat — racing against California’s third varsity boat — was narrowly defeated by a sub-two-second time difference.

Speaking to Yale Athletics, Craig W. Johnson ’68 Head Coach Mike Gennaro expressed that the competition was highly “productive” and provided the oarsmen with the opportunity to race “three times over two days” as useful preparation for the Eastern Sprints Championships and IRA National Championships that are set to take place in May. 

The men’s heavyweight crew team will head to Philadelphia this Saturday to race for the coveted Blackwell Cup against the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia.

REETI MALHOTRA
Reeti Malhotra is a first-year student in Silliman College. She covers Cops and Courts and Men's Crew for the News. She also writes for WKND. Beyond the newsroom, she engages in Yale's undergraduate theatre scene and is a first-year liaison for Cinemat. A prospective Political Science and English major, she is originally from Singapore.