Nearly through April and following an intense Easter weekend for many Women’s rowing teams, the dust is settling with the start of season excitement as teams begin to discover their speed and who their toughest races will be against. Now, as quick as it started, sights are set on the end as only a few race weekends remain before championship season kicks off, as early as May 11th for some. There was minimal movement in the Polls, but Rutgers are having a standout season so far, climbing to #7 in the rankings.
#5 Yale versus #4 Princeton
In what may have been one of my favorite races of the year so far, the Yale Bulldogs swept Princeton University. After twelve straight years of losses in the Varsity, Yale reclaims the Eisenberg Cup over Princeton, winning by a decisive margin of 3.5 seconds. All Yale boats were victorious, with the 2v’s race the closest with a 1.2 second margin. Yale have been waiting for this for a long time, and it has become a staple event of the season. To dominate Princeton, and to do in in a clean sweep, will give Yale the confidence to take them through to Ivies in a short month. It would be no surprise if Yale were to move right up the rankings. Led by captain Mia Levy, and coach Will Porter who just celebrated his 25th year at Yale, the team in blue may just have shown that, this year, they are on the hunt, and truly mean it. I cannot wait to see how they will fare at Ivies and beyond.
The Big 10 Invite
The Big 10 Invite in Sarasota, FL saw the likes of #4 Washington, #5 Tennessee, #9 Brown, #7 Rutgers, #12 Penn, and many others among the top-ranked teams compete, resulting in a thrilling weekend of racing. Over 20 teams competed throughout the weekend, making it easily one of the largest regular season races.
The most notable performance throughout the weekend saw Tennessee besting UW and Brown in the varsity by 2 and 9 seconds, respectively. Tennessee will be pleased with this and encouraged that the momentum they gathered last year will continue.
Despite their loss to Tennessee, Washington otherwise had a resoundingly successful weekend, posting all wins in the rest of their races across all boats, including against #11 Michigan and #15 Ohio State.
Rutgers came out victorious across their races and opened up a 6-second margin to Brown, who currently outranks Rutgers in the polls by a few places. After a stretch of forgettable seasons, Rutgers is powering its way back to the top and punching among some key players in the top 10. Their 1v faltered to Tennessee by 5 seconds, perhaps suggesting that, in this case, it is Brown who is ranked perhaps higher than they should be.
#14 Harvard Radcliffe also sent a fleet of boats, and came out victorious against UCLA and Notre Dame who were close behind in a photo finish.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
