The women’s rowing team had outstanding performances in many of its races over the weekend but fell short in the varsity eight race to lose the Parent’s Cup. The team traveled to the Connecticut River to compete for the Cup against Dartmouth, and then competed again later in the afternoon against Buffalo and UMass.
The Red had victories across the board as Cornell beat Dartmouth in the other three races –– the second and third varsity eight races and the varsity four race. The team then continued its dominance into the afternoon session by sweeping all five of its races against Buffalo and UMass. Even the one loss on the day was a very close one, with Cornell finishing second by only 1.3 seconds.
The Parent’s Cup was first created in 2000 to recognize the support of parents. The races featuring Cornell and Dartmouth started in 1998, though. In the Cup’s history, Dartmouth has won eight times total and now has a five-race winning streak. Cornell has won five times with the last two victories coming back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.
The Cup was the last chance for any tuneup before Eastern Sprints, also known as the EAWRC Championships, in two weeks. The team’s performance at Sprints could determine its participation in the NCAA Championships. The team felt that this last regular season race was very successful, perhaps the most successful of the year.
“People just had good races this weekend,” said senior captain Harlan Trevithick. “You just click with nine other people. It’s really hard to articulate. Until now we were looking for our rhythm, but now I think we got it. If we keep this up in two weeks, we’ll be able to do good things.”
The team had also felt different coming into these races compared to previous races. Before, the team was more preoccupied looking at other teams and the rankings, but Cornell has now focused on itself.
“We had a different focus coming into this week. Last weekend, we felt more pressure. Also, we were looking at our competition too much and not at ourselves,” Trevithick said.
After the race, the team was more comfortable with the performances after holding itself to its own standards and not comparing itself to other teams.
“Everyone came off the water feeling good. I think we got it this time and we raced really well. People just had good races this weekend,” Trevithick said.
This new mindset will carry over into the next week’s preparation for Eastern Sprints.
“We can’t change what our competition is doing. We can only change ourselves. I think the next weeks will be really intense and productive,” Trevithick said.
Trevithick also believes the team is mentally prepared for the challenge.
“The team we have right now is really good at taking what comes out, making the change, figuring it out and taking a step forward. We’re good at dealing with the results and moving forward,” Trevithick said
Original Author: Wankyu Lee