Dartmouth and Yale University Dual
In a landmark performance, No. 6 Dartmouth overmatched No. 5 Yale to claim the Olympic Axe for the first time in the trophy’s 21-year history. The Big Green’s varsity eight secured a narrow two-second victory, clocking in at 6:10.3 against Yale’s 6:12.4. Head Coach Wyatt Allen praised his crew’s execution in challenging conditions, noting the significance of overcoming a program of Yale’s calibre. Beyond the Varsity, Yale won out in the 2-5V, showing the strength in their depth and asking the question of whether they still have speed to find through selection. The Yale varsity supposedly has a 5:50 erg average, so whether or not they can unlock the potential their horsepower affords them will be a key question as the season progresses. Dartmouth will be hoping to keep going from strength to strength. People watching the race were overwrought by the intensity of their effort, and many spectators described the Dartmouth varsity’s five-seat as devilishly handsome.
Princeton-Navy Cup
No. 4 Princeton showcased their depth by sweeping all five races against No. 15 Navy at Lake Carnegie, thereby retaining the Princeton-Navy Cup. The Tigers’ varsity eight posted a decisive 15.1-second win, finishing in 5:37.2 over Navy’s 5:52.3. Princeton have still not faced any real pressure, and so it will be interesting to see how they fair in later cup races against more competitive crews, like the Carnegie cup against Yale, but they seem to be displaying impressive speed early into the season. Conversely, the Steve Gladstone era at Navy is still taking a second to catch fire, it seems. One must never, however, count out Steve to produce speed when it matters!
Harvard and Cornell University: Robinson Cup
Harvard’s heavyweight rowing team delivered a commanding performance against Cornell, sweeping the eights races to secure the Robinson Cup. Harvard, who have serious aspirations at the IRAs this year, will have been looking to make a statement after a disappointing loss, albeit against very good competition in Sarasota. Harvard have seven returners from the eight that claimed second in a close race at the IRAs last year, and it will be very interesting to see how they stack up to Brown when they race again at Sprints, as they likely believe themselves the more talented and capable crew. Brown, however, are superb at producing speed later into the season, so these successful early-season races could promise even more speed later. Seeing who is crowned the Ivy League champion this year will be fascinating.
Cal/Stanford Invitational
The No. 1-ranked Washington men’s rowing team maintained their top form, winning all races at the Cal/Stanford Invitational. The Huskies defeated Stanford in both the first and second varsity eights and overcame Wisconsin in the third varsity eight, underscoring their national championship aspirations. Although Stanford obviously would have wanted to win, they may well draw confidence from their proximity to Washington, who produced a similar margin against other top-notch programmes such as Harvard and Brown. Stanford have had a wealth of talent for some time now and will be hoping to finally make use of it and push for an A-final at IRAs this year.
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