Heavyweight crew relinquishes Blackwell Cup

It was a tough weekend for the men’s rowing teams as they faced off against Yale and Penn in Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River. The heavyweight crew team was unable to keep the Blackwell Cup, losing it to Yale by a small margin, while the lightweights faltered and came in third in the Dodge Cup.

The heavyweight team had kept the Blackwell Cup for the past two years, but relinquished it this year after it finished 2.1 seconds behind Yale in the varsity eight race. The Lions were ahead until the turn in the river, when Yale overtook them. The Bulldogs never trailed again and managed to finish on top with a time of 5:41.1. Columbia was close behind with 5:43.2, and Penn came in third place with 5:57.6.

The second varsity boat was similarly outdone close to the finish. It was farther behind Yale than the first boat, finishing third with a time of 6:11.5, behind the Bulldogs’ 6:00.3 finish and not too far behind the Quakers’ 6:09.8.

The lightweight crew team had a disappointing finish, placing third in all three of its races. In its last matchup with Penn, it out-rowed the Quakers fairly comfortably. On Saturday, however, the Light Blue was defeated by squads from both Yale and Penn. Yale came in first in the varsity eight race with a time of 5:54.3, not far in front of second-place Penn, which finished in 5:56.8. Columbia brought up the rear with a time of 6:02.2. The rankings were the same for the second varsity boats. The Bulldogs finished ahead with a time of 5:59.0, the Quakers followed with a time of 6:04.8, and the Lions trailed with a finish of 6:15.4.

Both teams will be back in action next weekend. The heavyweight team will host Syracuse on the Orchard Beach Lagoon in Pelham, N.Y., while the lightweights go to Ithaca to face Cornell and MIT and then return to their home course the next day to race Dartmouth.