Cornell rowing once again ended its year as one of the nation’s best crews, earning fourth place at the IRA National Championships in Camden, N.J.
The Red’s varsity two-man boat led the way on the Cooper River, winning its race with a time of 7:34.00. The pair defeated Hobart by a little more than two seconds.
Crews from across the nation competed at the annual championships, which feature both heavyweight and lightweight rowers. Harvard — the defending champion — earned the Ten Eyck Trophy as the best school at the event. The Crimson also won the heavyweight varsity eight-man race for the second straight year.
The Cornell varsity eight took sixth place in the petite finals, giving the Red an 11th-place overall finish. The top six boats in a collegiate race compete in the grand finals, while boats ranked 7 to 12 compete in the petite finals. A total of 24 boats entered the varsity eight competition.
Cornell’s alumni team won the masters eight competition, with a time of 7:17.00. The heavyweight varsity eight second boat, and varsity lightweight eight, also turned in strong performances. The second varsity eight finished sixth in the grand final, with a time of 6:26.97. The University of Washington won the race, with a 6:06.94.
The lightweights finished sixth in their race, with a time of 6:21.94. Navy won with a 6:05.02, completing an undefeated season for the Midshipmen.
The IRA’s was the last meet of the year for the Red.
The heavyweights had a generally strong season, despite a disappointing Carnegie Cup loss to Princeton.
In April the heavyweights earned a major victory against Syracuse and Navy, winning the Stagg Trophy in Annapolis, Md. Yet the rowers were unable to defend last year’s impressive Carnegie victory, losing to the Tigers in Princeton.
The lightweights enjoyed a very successful year, winning more varsity eight races than any team in Cornell history. The crews captured all possible regular-season trophies, earning wins over Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale, among others. The Red’s only varsity eight defeat of the regular season came to Harvard.
In May, both crews competed at the prominent Eastern Sprints, in Worchester, Mass. The heavyweight varsity eight took sixth place, while the lightweight crew was fifth in its race. The heavyweight’s second eight earned a silver medal, losing by five seconds to Harvard.
Meanwhile, the women’s crews ended their year with a fourth-place overall finish at the Eastern Sprints. Cornell earned three gold medals and a silver at the year-end meet. Both the “A” and “B” squads of the varsity four boats were victorious.
Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Staff Writer