Heavyweights retake Carnegie Cup from Yale

In 2007, Yale hosted and won the Carnegie Cup regatta. The Bulldogs edged out the Tigers by less than three seconds, ending Princeton’s hopes of a repeat victory in the race and setting up this year’s showdown.

Yale did not prove to be as much of a threat when deprived of home-water advantage, however, finishing third behind the Tigers and the Big Red.

The first varsity eight finished in five minutes, 55.5 seconds, with Cornell crossing the line at 5:58.8 and the Bulldogs following roughly two seconds later.

The Carnegie Cup regatta was a key race for Princeton, which will face No. 2 Brown at home. With the win, the Tigers are primed to perform well against one of their strongest Ivy League rivals.

Princeton’s first freshman boat also performed well, continuing an impressive season that bodes well for future Tiger crews. In the freshman race, Princeton finished in a blistering 6:01.5, defeating Yale by nearly five seconds.

The first freshman boat finished faster than both the second and third varsity boats, which had trying races. Cornell won both contests, with the Tigers’ second varsity finishing in second in 6:10.0 and the third varsity boat trailing the Big Red and the Bulldogs with a time of 6:26.8.

The No. 2 men’s lightweight crew also competed on Lake Carnegie this weekend, setting the tone early and maintaining the pace in two strong wins against Penn. The Quakers were simply overmatched by the two Tiger crews, who won by a cumulative margin of more than 30 seconds to retain possession of the Wood-Hammond Cup.

The first varsity eight finished in 6:05.8, with Penn finishing more than 20 seconds later. The first freshman eight had a closer race but ultimately prevailed, crossing the line in 6:24.4.

Princeton’s victories come just one week after the team overthrew two-time defending national champion Cornell. Victories over the Big Red and the Quakers could not have come at a better time. Princeton needs all the momentum it can get heading into an epic showdown next weekend, as the Tigers are slated to face their traditional rivals next week on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.

No. 1 Yale and No. 6 Harvard will certainly give Princeton all it can handle next week, and a win for the Tigers would likely make them the top-ranked team in the nation.