As many Cornell students gather on the slope today to celebrate the conclusion of a long semester of midterms, papers, excessive homework and lack of sleep, the men’s heavyweight and women’s crews will be boarding planes to Seattle, Wash., where they will be competing tomorrow morning in the 19th Annual Windermere Cup Opening Day Regatta.
This will be the Red’s debut performance on the challenging 2,000-meter course on Lake Washington. The event is held along with the Seattle Yacht Club’s annual celebration, signaling the opening of their season.
The men, currently ranked ninth in the nation, will have their work cut out for them, as they will be competing against No. 3 Washington, along with the Czech Republic Under-23 National Team.
Both the men’s and women’s Washington crews are coming off a sweep of Oregon State last weekend.
The heavyweights hope to continue their success from last weekend, when they defeated Rutgers during their last home competition.
The women will also have their sights set high, as they will take to the water alongside No. 12 Washington and the Czech Republic Under-23 National Team.
Both the Washington and the Czech National crews have had success in previous years at the Regatta, with the Huskie men winning 13 of the last 14 Windermere Cups and the women claiming 11 of the last 13.
The Czech women last competed in the regatta in 1991, when they won the event.
Cornell’s lightweight men will be taking the weekend off from competition, as they prepare for the upcoming Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass., one of the most crucial event of the year.
Last year, the lighweights’ varsity eight placed fifth. The Red is currently ranked third in the EARC lightweight standings, behind Navy and Harvard.
Thus far, the Red has fallen to only the two teams ranked above them, stroking to victories against the rest of their competitors.
Under the leadership of senior captain Colin Farrell and guidance of head coach Todd Kennett ’91, the Red will look to fine tune their race in the following week leading up to Sprints.
The heavyweight and women’s crews will also be competing in the championship races on May 14. Last year, the heavyweight varsity finished an impressive sixth, while the women’s varsity eight was eighth. Both crews have been steadily improving over the season, as they work towards the final — and most important — races.
Archived article by Erin Garry
Sun Staff Writer