Brown University & The University of Pennsylvania
On Saturday, April 5th, No. 7 Brown University and No.12 University of Pennsylvania returned to Lake Carnegie, Princeton, NJ, for an Ivy League match-up. Brown delivered a dominant performance, sweeping all events. The Varsity eight finished over five seconds ahead of Penn with a time of 6:24.4. Stroked by Nadia Vondeling, a senior with the acclaimed title of CRCA Scholar-Athlete of 2023-24 and coxed by Summer Balla-Kellett, a sophomore from Melbourne, this crew has a lot of talent, and this win will give them confidence going into their next race. In the second Varsity eight, Brown again took a confident win, finishing with a time of 6:31.8, over 7 seconds ahead of Penn. Brown also won the remaining events, with the margins increasingly more significant. Brown will have gained a lot of confidence as they prepare for their next important race: the Big Ten Invitational in Florida from April 18-19.
Yale, Syracuse and Cornell University: The Cayuga Cup
In Fish Creek, Saratoga, NY, No. 6 Yale, No. 10 Syracuse, and Cornell went head-to-head for the Cayuga Cup on Saturday. With a constant shower of rain alongside challenging cross headwinds, racing occurred in difficult conditions. However, despite these suboptimal conditions, Yale dominated each event with a clean sweep, returning to New Haven with The Cayuga Cup. The Yale Varsity eight won convincingly with an open water victory, with a time of 6:44.6, finishing over 12 seconds ahead of No.10 Syracuse and Cornell. Two standout members of this crew – Mia Levy and Maya Meschkuleit, who also competed in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, winning a silver medal with the Canadian eight – were named 2025 CRCA athletes to watch. The second Varsity eight results showed another confident win by Yale with a time of 6:56.05, over 13 seconds ahead of Syracuse. Yale continued to show large margins over their competitors in the remaining events. Yale has a lot of talent and experience this year, and it will be exciting to see how they compare with other high-performing programmes later in the season. Looking ahead to next weekend, Yale will look to continue to excel on the water as their athletes prepare for their next race against Dartmouth for the Class of ’84 Cup on Saturday, April 12.
UCLA USD Duel
On the other side of the country, in Ballona Creek, LA, UCLA went against the University of San Diego in their annual duel on Sunday. Conditions were optimal, with minimal winds and flat water. UCLA demonstrated a dominant performance, with a clean sweep of all events. Their Varsity eight result is worth mentioning, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:18.6, over 13 seconds ahead of USD. Their second Varsity eight also had a very convincing win with a time of 6:17.7 and a 20-second margin over USD. In the remaining events, UCLA continued to dominate with convincing margins. It is exciting to see UCLA dominate this duel, and their athletes will take much confidence from these races as they prepare for one of their most important races of the season in two week’s time: the Big Ten Invitational in Sarasota, Florida.
Boston, Dartmouth, MIT, Northeastern University
It was a cold, windy Saturday on the Charles River, Cambridge, MA. No. 22 East Coast rivals Boston, Dartmouth, MIT and Northeastern University competed in the early morning of the weekend. All crews dealt with conditions well with a strong cross tailwind throughout the 2000m course. The Varsity eight race was close, but Dartmouth edged ahead of Boston and Northeastern with a time of 6:24.1, with Boston University close behind with a time of 6.27.7. In the second Varsity eight, Dartmouth also came out victorious with a finish of 6:33.1, more than seven seconds ahead of Northeastern, followed by Boston University. Boston’s Varsity four and second Varsity four crossed the finish line first, ahead of Northeastern and Dartmouth. These crews will be glad the racing is over and look to next weekend, with Dartmouth preparing for an exciting challenge at Yale next week and Boston facing Columbia and Northeastern again on the Charles River. It will be exciting to see how these crews progress throughout the season leading up to the peak racing season.
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