The men’s lightweight crews continued to build upon a successful start to their season when they traveled to Camden, N.J. this weekend to compete against Ivy League rivals Harvard and Penn. The men came out above the Quakers in each race and split against the Crimson.
The Red won the third varsity boat race and was second to Harvard in each of the other races. After leading for the first 1,000 meters in the first varsity boat race, the Red was passed by the Crimson who captured the victory in 6:17.1. The Red finished only 3.2 seconds behind the Crimson with a time of 6:20.3. Penn finished five seconds later in 6:25.1.
The junior varsity boats fared much the same as the varsity boats, leading early on in the first race only to be passed by Harvard. The first junior varsity boat finished in a time of 6:34.2, while the second finished in 6:50.5.
The men hope to continue their success this weekend when they host Rutgers and Princeton Saturday on Cayuga Inlet.
The women’s crews were not as successful as the men when they traveled to Boston. They battled Harvard and Princeton on the Charles River this past Saturday, both teams which have proved to be very competitive in the past and continued to be so this weekend.
“Harvard and Princeton are two of the fastest teams in the nation,” said senior captain Sarah Greer.
Princeton and Harvard are ranked first and third in the nation, respectively, for collegiate crews. The Tigers have yet to drop an Ivy League match this season.
The Red’s varsity eight finished in third in a time of 6:50, well behind both Princeton (6:24.5) and Harvard (6:26.8). The second varsity eight finished in third as well, with a time of 6:52.3. Princeton won the race in 6:42.7.
“It was disappointing, but hopefully we can take these results and turn them into something better over the course of the season. We are just going to have to work hard to close the gap,” Greer said.
Early results are not necessarily indicative of how the remainder of the competitions during the season will turn out. The Red plans to work to improve its record in the coming weeks. Although the varsity boats were disappointed with the outcomes of their races, the novice women put in a strong effort and came out on top. The Red captured the first race, crossing the finish line in a time of 6:59.2 in front of the Tigers (7:04) and the Crimson (7:09.5). The second novice boat finished with a time of 8:14.6, only four seconds behind Harvard.
“It is great to see the novice boats doing so well in competition,” Greer said. “They work hard and it shows in the results.”
The women will host both Penn and Rutgers this coming Saturday morning on Cayuga Inlet where they will look to improve on their performances thus far in the season.
Archived article by Erin Garry
Sun Staff Writer