With a strong headwind and sunny conditions, the men’s heavyweight crew swept all three races against Rutgers to capture the Howard Smith Cup.
The varsity eight boat crossed the finish line with a time of 6:22.1, nearly eight seconds ahead of its opponents. The Red’s second varsity boat clocked in at 6:30.1, while Rutgers posted a time of 6:44.0, and the Red’s third varsity boat pulled in three seconds later at 6:47.3
In novice action, the Red dominated the Scarlet Knights as, it raced to a 6:36.7 finish, while Rutgers finished second with a time of 6:49.2.
Despite the cold weather, junior John Lipiros, a member of the varsity eight boat, was extremely pleased with his team’s performance.
“We handled the conditions really well. They [Rutgers] were fighting, but we pulled away at the halfway point,” he said.
The heavyweights will use these victories to prepare themselves for next weekend’s regatta against Navy and Syracuse.
The Red also has its sights set on the race that will take place two weeks from now, when it will compete against Princeton and Yale for the Carnegie Cup.
Cornell’s other crews were also in action this weekend. The men’s lightweight boats were only able to capture one first-place victory on the Cayuga Inlet, where the team hosted Princeton and Rutgers.
The Tigers won the varsity eight race in an impressive 6:31.9, while the Knights finished 11 seconds later at 6:41.2, just two seconds ahead of Cornell’s 6:43.1 third-place finish.
“We had a stiff headwind going on the course. We just never really clicked on the boat,” said senior captain Michael Cody. “Since it is still early in the season, we haven’t come anywhere close to reaching our potential; with more racing experience, we can expect top speed out of our boats.”
Cornell’s third varsity boat and the second novice boat each raced to first-place victories.
Cody had only good things to say about the third varsity boat, which dominated Princeton with a time of 6:27.0, five seconds ahead of the Tigers’ 6:32.2.
“They are a deep team and have been capitalizing on strong rowers.”
Head coach Todd Kennett ’91 agreed with his captain’s assessment of the crew’s performance this weekend.
“We significantly underperformed as compared to what we are capable of doing,” he said.
The Red will have a chance to redeem itself as it prepares to travel next weekend for competition against Columbia and MIT.
The women’s crews traveled to Lake Carnegie Saturday to compete in a quad race against Wisconsin, Radcliffe, and Princeton. Radcliffe took the varsity eight race with a time of 7:01.1, while the Red came in third with 7:18.59.
The Red’s sole first-place finish was claimed by the second novice eight boat, which beat Radcliffe with a time of 7:46.2.
Cornell will travel to Schuylkill River next weekend where it will face Penn and Rutgers.
Archived article by Adrienne Dunbar