Yale wins “Battle of the Blues”; Navy retains Callow Cup; Yale Women take Cayuga

Folks…

The results are in, cheering is over and the focus is now on practice and finding speed for next week’s competition.


Folks…

The results are in, cheering is over and the focus is now on practice and finding speed for next week’s competition.

Eads Johnson Trophy – Andy Card’s LW 1V took an early lead and moved to open water to finish 5.7 seconds ahead of Navy, in Yale’s season opener on Lake Carnegie. With a strong head wind that varied considerably between events, it is difficult to compare finishing times. The remaining four races were split between the two squads. Navy 2V remained undefeated on the season in the JEVA, winning by a length over the Eli. Yale won the 1F contest convincingly by 2 lengths (7.1 seconds) and defeated the Navy 3V by a larger margin (9.5 seconds). Navy bested Yale in the 2F “easily”. Yale’s 1V victory claimed the Eads Johnson Trophy for the second time in three years. Navy leads the series 3-2.

For those who are counting, and at the request of some, we have been informally tracking team results for the Navy – Yale races over the same period since 2004. Based on the formula used for the David Vogel Cup in the annual competition between the lightweights of Harvard, Yale and Princeton:

2008 – Yale {22} – Navy {17}
2007 – Navy {22} – Yale {17}
2006 – Navy {21} – Yale {18}
2005 – Navy {26} – Yale {13}
2004 – Navy {23} – Yale {16}

You can find information on the David Vogel Cup and the points formula at

http://www.yale.edu/rowing/vogel_cup.htm

Rusty Callow Cup – Coach Rob Friedrich called it a “good race” for the Navy 1V as they managed to open a lead by mid race and go on to nearly a 1 length victory (2.8 second) over Penn. Conditions were fast as the Navy 1V posted a winning time of 5:47.9. The Navy 2V split into coxed fours with both crews “easily” defeating Penn. In the Freshman race, the Navy Plebes were ahead by a length, when an oar struck a buoy, bringing the Navy 1F to a complete stop. When they were able to get back in the race, Penn was a full three lengths ahead. At the finish Penn was the victor, 2.6 seconds ahead of the Navy 2F. The Navy 1F, recovered, but still was an additional 3.2 seconds back in third.

With the Navy 1V victory, the Callow Cup series is now 27-27.

San Diego Crew Classic – Yale HWs had a good race in Saturday’s preliminary heat of the Men’s Varsity Collegiate Invitational Challenge {Copley Cup} finishing a “deck” back of California in heat B and posting the third fastest qualifying time of the event. However the promise of Saturday, failed to materialize in the Sunday morning final as the Eli crew finished 7th in the Grand Final. Defending IRA National Champions, Washington, won the Copley Cup for the 14th time, in the 35 year SDCC event history.

Cayuga Cup – At Derby, Yale Women swept the varsity races over Cornell and Syracuse. The 2nd ranked Eli 1V had nearly 2 lengths of open water (10 seconds) over Cornell at the finish. Syracuse trailed in 3rd. In the 2V competition, Yale again led Cornell and Syracuse, this time with a 12 second margin. Yale also won the Varsity 4+ “easily”. However in the Novice events, it was Cornell winning convincingly in both N8+ and N4+. Yale finished 2nd and Syracuse 3rd in each novice event.

Playfair Cup – Navy Women won 3 of 4 races over Boston University and George Washington, but with a 5 second victory in the 1V race, BU regained the Playfair Cup. Navy took home the trophy in 2007.

RACING NEXT WEEK –

EARC HM:

* Arlett Cup: BU vs. Northeastern, Boston, MA
* Stein Cup: Brown vs. Harvard, Providence, RI
* Childs Cup: Penn vs. Princeton, Columbia, Philadelphia, PA
* Olympic Axe: Yale vs. Dartmouth, Derby, CT
* Donahue Cup: Holy Cross vs. Delaware, MIT, Worcester, MA
* Ten Eyck Cup: Rutgers vs. Syracuse, New Brunswick, NJ

EARC LM:

* Wit Cup: Columbia vs. Rutgers, Navy, Orchard Beach Lagoon, Pelham, NY
* Matthews Cup, Leonard Cup: Cornell vs. Harvard, Penn, Ithaca, NY
* Jimmy Joy Cup: MIT vs. Georgetown, Yale, Cambridge, MA
* Holy Cross vs. Delaware, Dartmouth, Worcester, MA

EAWRC:

* BU vs. Dartmouth, Yale, Housatonic River, Derby, CT
* Brown vs. Rutgers, Seekonk River, Providence, RI
* Northeastern vs. Penn, Syracuse, Charles River, Boston, MA
* Class of 75 Cup: Radcliffe vs. Cornell, Princeton, Charles River, Boston, MA

The Navy season will continue this coming week when the Mids — HW Men and Women take part in the George Washington Invitational April 11-12 on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. This will be the opening competition of the season for the Navy HWs.

GO BLUE!

Cheers!

Best regards,

Coach and TB406

{See detailed results and articles below}

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From Navy Sports:

Yale Wins Eads Johnson Trophy from Navy

PRINCETON, N.J. – Yale took control right at the start and went on to post a six-second victory over Navy in the varsity contest between the two lightweight crew programs Saturday evening on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, N.J.

“Yale very quickly took a three-seat lead on our boat,” said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. “They were then able to slowly extend their advantage throughout the race. Yale looks exceptional for this time of year, but the result was disappointing for us.”

The Bulldogs crossed the finish line with a winning time of 6:23.5, with Navy recording a time of 6:29.2. The win returns the Eads Johnson Trophy — which is presented annually to the winner of the varsity race between the two programs — to Yale. The Mids had won three of the first four races for the trophy, including a victory in 2007.

The two teams split the remaining four races contested on the day, with the Mids claiming the second varsity and second freshman races and the Bulldogs winning the first freshman and third varsity races.

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From Yale Sports:

Juniors Mikkel Krenchel and Daniel Ensslen

Bulldogs Snag Johnson Cup
1V, 1F and 3V All Victorious

April 5, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second time in three years, the Bulldogs beat Navy to win the Johnson Cup and open the spring season with a victory on Lake Carnegie. The Yale 1V’s time of 6:23.50 bettered the Midshipmen 1V’s 6:29.20–a margin of 5.7 seconds. The victory marks the second time since the series’ inception five years ago that the Elis have brought home the Johnson Cup. Yale’s 1F and 3V boats also won.

“It feels good to start the season with a win,” Yale Head Coach Andy Card commented. Card also noted that head winds in Princeton, N.J. had rendered times nearly irrelevant.

The Bulldog 1V of junior Daniel Ensslen (stroke), sophomore Brendan McCook (seven), senior Alexander Rothmeier (six), senior Roman Rezanowicz (five), sophomore Adam Lukasiewicz (four), sophomore John Grunyk (three), junior Mikkel Krenchel (two), sophomore Noah McColl (bow) and sophomore Stephen Dobeck (cox) crossed in 6:23.50 to beat the Navy 1V (6:29.20) by 5.7 seconds.

With a time of 6:20.50, the Yale 1F defeated the Navy freshmen by over seven seconds. The Yale 3V was also victorious.

The Navy 2V (6:18.50) edged Yale’s (6:22.40) by 3.9 seconds. The Bulldogs’ 2F also fell.

“Navy is one of the best crews in the league, year in and year out,” Card said. “Since they’re our opener, we always have to be at our very sharpest. And while we still have a lot of work to do, this is the way you like to get the spring started.”

The Bulldogs will travel to Cambridge, Mass. on Mar. 12 for the Joy Cup versus M.I.T. and Georgetown.

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Opener Up
(April 5) On the neutral waters of Lake Carnegie, the Yale Lightweights opened up their 2008 season with the 5th annual running of the Johnson Cup against the U.S. Naval Academy. The racing as usual was intense, and when the white flag was held aloft at the end, Yale proved victorious in 3 of the 5 races, including the varsity race. Yale has now won the Johnson Cup 2 out of the last 3 years, although Navy leads the overall series, 3-2. Yale also won the 1F and 3V races, while Navy took the 2V and the 2F.
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EARC LW Men: Eads Johnson Jr. Cup
April 5, 2008; Lake Carnegie, NJ

Submitted by Rob Friedrich.

Distance: 2000 meters
Conditions: Variable moderate to strong headwind, changing between races.

Results

Varsity 8:
Yale 6:23.5
Navy 6:29.2

2nd Varsity 8:
Navy 6:18.5
Yale 6:22.4

3rd Varsity:
Yale 6:27.2
Navy 6:36.7

Frosh/Novice 8:
Yale 6:20.5
Navy 6:27.6

2nd Frosh/Novice 8:
Navy 6:40.1
Yale 7:04.9

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From Navy Sports:

Navy Wins Callow Cup Race

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Navy jumped out to an early lead and maintained its advantage over Penn throughout the remainder of the course to win the varsity race between the two lightweight crew programs Sunday morning on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

“We had a good start and were able to open up a lead by 1,000 meters and kept that advantage until the end of the finish line,” said Navy head coach Rob Friedrich. “It was a good race.”

Navy’s clocking of 5:47.9 allowed the Mids to edge the Penn boat by nearly three seconds (5:50.7).

Navy retains the Callow Cup with the victory, which has been awarded since 1955 to the winner of the varsity race between the Mids and the Quakers. It is the eighth-straight victory recorded by Navy over Penn, the longest winning streak in the series, and allows the Mids to take a 27-26 lead in the all-time cup series. {According to the Navy Lightweights website, first Callow Cup competition was 1955, and in the 54 contests through this year, the series record is now TIED, 27-27. Navy’s current 8 race streak matches Penn’s series longest from 1973-1980 — jva}

Navy also placed both first and second in the varsity four race, while Penn posted a victory in the freshman eight race. Navy’s top freshman boat held a one-boat length advantage in the latter race when an oar hit a buoy causing the boat to come to a complete stop. By the time the boat was moving again, the Mids trailed by nearly three boat lengths with just over half of the 2,000-meter course remaining. Despite the setback, the Mids finished just five seconds in back of the victorious Penn boat.

The Mids will next be in action Saturday when Navy faces Columbia and Rutgers on Orchard Beach Lagoon in Pelham, N.Y.

Varsity Eight (Callow Cup race)
Navy, 5:47.9; Penn, 5:50.7

Varsity Four
Navy B, 6:30.2; Navy A, 6:32.5; Penn, 6:49.5

Freshman Eight
Penn, 5:58.0; Navy B, 6:00.6; Navy A, 6:03.8

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From Yale Sports:

L to R: Jack Vogelsang, Andrew Collard, Pieter Morgan

Bulldogs Finish Seventh in Grand Final
Result Tough After Strong Prelim Performance

April 6, 2008

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Yale’s 1V closed out its three-day trip to San Diego, Calif., with a tough seventh-place finish in an extremely competitive grand final. Defending IRA national champions Washington won the Copley Cup for the fourteenth time (a regatta record) with a comfortable margin of 1.9 seconds. It was a disappointing finish for the Bulldogs, who after yesterday’s performance seemed well poised for a top-three finish.

In the grand final, the varsity boat finished last behind two crews it had beaten in its preliminary heat the day before. Princeton’s finish was perhaps the most surprising. After finishing fourth in yesterday’s prelim and beating out Syracuse for the last spot in the grand final, the Tigers took second place in the event. Harvard followed them in third.

Men’s Collegiate Varsity Grand Final
Sunday, Apr. 6, 2008

1 Washington 5:39.90
2 Princeton 5:41.80
3 Harvard 5:43.89
4 California 5:44.15
5 Northeastern 5:44.18
6 Stanford 5:44.38
7 Yale 5:47.37

The Bulldogs will spend the coming week preparing for Dartmouth who comes to the Gilder Boathouse in search of the Olympic Axe on Apr. 12.

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L to R: Lucas Spielfogel, Henry Cole, James Tormey, Jack Vogelsang and Andrew Collard

Yale 1V Impresses on First Day of Racing
Second-Place Finish Sends Bulldogs to Grand Final

April 5, 2008

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Bulldogs’ varsity eight turned heads on day one of racing at the San Diego Crew Classic Regatta. After last weekend’s tough loss to Brown, Yale responded with a strong second-place finish in the qualifying heats. The Bulldogs came in just .31 seconds behind powerhouse Cal. In third place and .47 seconds behind Yale, came Northeastern. Ivy League rivals Princeton and Penn came in fourth and fifth, respectively. Purdue rounded out the field in sixth place.

In the other qualifying heat, Washington posted the fastest time by an impressive margin of 5.22 seconds. Rounding out the top three were Harvard followed by Stanford. Yale’s varsity boat posted the third fastest time, behind Washington and Cal, setting up what will be a fiercely competitive final on Sunday. In the final on Sunday, in lane order, are Washington, Cal, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Northeastern and Princeton.

Men’s Collegiate Varsity Prelims
Saturday, Apr. 5, 2008

Prelim A
1 Washington 5:41.60
2 Harvard 5:46.82
3 Stanford 5:48.07
4 Syracuse 5:51.17
5 OSU 5:56.17
6 UCSD 6:01.60
7 Colgate 6:12.07

Prelim B
1 California 5:45.40
2 Yale 5:45.71
3 Northeastern 5:46.18
4 Princeton 5:47.81
5 Pennsylvania 5:57.15
6 Purdue 6:03.78

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From Yale Sports:

Yale captured the Cayuga Cup

Yale Defeats Cornell & Syracuse To Win Cayuga Cup
Second-Ranked Bulldogs Varsity Wins By Nearly 10 Seconds

April 5, 2008

DERBY, Conn. – It was another good day on the Housatonic River for the Yale women’s crew. The Bulldogs’ varsity eight, which is ranked second in the nation, cruised to a victory over Cornell and Syracuse. Yale finished in 6:05.5, nearly 10 seconds ahead of second place Cornell (6:15.0). The Orange was third in 6:19.1. The Bulldogs also won the second varsity and varsity four races to win the Cayuga Cup.

“I was pleased with the effort of our crews today,” said Yale Head Coach Will Porter. “We are starting to sort things out and are gaining speed.”

In the second varsity, Yale won by nearly 12 seconds finishing in 6:19.4. Cornell (6:31.0) was second followed by Syracuse (7:19.1).

The Bulldogs’ varsity four won by an even greater margin, finishing in 6:55.7. Syracuse (7:19.1) was second and the Big Red came in third at 7:38.9.

Cornell won the novice eight and second novice four races.

The conditions were much better than last Saturday when the Bulldogs defeated Columbia and Penn on very choppy waters.

Yale hosts Dartmouth and Boston University next Saturday.

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Varsity Eight
1. Yale 6:05.5
2. Cornell 6:15.0
3. Syracuse 6:19.1

Second Varsity Eight
1. Yale 6:19.4
2. Cornell 6:31.0
3. Syracuse 6:38.7

Varsity Four
1. Yale 6:55.7
2. Syracuse 7:19.1
3. Cornell 7:38.9

Novice Eight
1. Cornell 6:30.3
2. Yale 6:40.8
3. Syracuse 6:51.1

Second Novice Four
1. Cornell 7:34.9
2. Yale 7:44.3
3. Syracuse 8:05.6

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From Navy Sports:

Terriers Top Mids to Win Playfair Cup

CHERRY HILLS, N.J. – A strong start to the race helped propel Boston University to a victory over Navy and George Washington in the varsity race between the three women’s crew programs Saturday morning on the Cooper River in Cherry Hills, N.J.

The opening sprint to the race by the Terriers allowed the boat to build a three-quarter of a boat length lead over the Mids about one minute into the race. Navy was able to close the margin somewhat by the midpoint of the contest, but BU responded and soon took an open-water advantage over the Mids over the next several hundred meters. By the end of the 2,000-meter race, the Mids were able to cut the difference down to a one-boat and two-seat margin.

The Terriers won the race with a winning time of 6:35.15, Navy finished in second place five seconds later (6:40.52) and George Washington place third 20 seconds after the Mids crossed the finish line (7:00.93).

The victory allows the Terriers to regain possession of the Playfair Cup, which is awarded annually to the winner of the varsity race between the three programs. Navy entered the day with the hardware by virtue of its 2007 victory.

Navy crews were victorious in each of the three additional races contested between the three programs Saturday morning. The Mids won the second varsity race by six seconds, the varsity four race by eight seconds and the novice eight race by seven seconds.

“It is always a good day when you are able to win three out of four races,” said Navy head coach Mike Hughes. “However, the one we wanted to win more than any of them was the varsity race, so we are disappointed. Today showed we have a lot of depth. We do need to get our varsity boat moving faster, especially at the start of the race, but we saw a lot of concrete things in terms of technique and how we raced that we will be able to improve upon as the season progresses. We are looking forward to getting back on the water in practice and continuing to make adjustments and improvements. Our best racing is still ahead of us.”

The Navy season will continue this coming week when the Mids take part in the George Washington Invitational April 11-12 on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

First Varsity (Playfair Cup race)
Boston Univ., 6:35.15; Navy, 6:40.52; George Washington, 7:00.93

Second Varsity
Navy, 6:52.38; Boston Univ., 6:58.70; George Washington, 7:29.40

Varsity Four
Navy A, 7:37.02; Boston Univ., 7:45.06, Navy B, 8:03.02; George Washington, 8:26.49

Novice
Navy A, 7:04.97; Boston Univ., 7:11.47; Navy B, 7:12.07; George Washington, 7:41.94