The Yale Bulldogs men’s lightweight crew team began its spring season on March 28 at the National Collegiate Lightweight Invitational held at Overpeck Park in Leonia, New Jersey. The event featured races against Navy, Georgetown, and MIT.
The competition is significant as it marks the start of Yale’s campaign for several prestigious cups and provides an early assessment of the team’s performance against key rivals.
In morning racing, Yale secured a victory over Navy in the first varsity (1V) race to claim the Johnson Cup, repeating their success from last year. Andy Card, Yale’s Y150 Alumni Head Coach of Lightweight Crew, said, “It was a great early season test, and we learned a lot. We were delighted to win against Navy.”
Despite this success in the 1V race, Navy won both the second varsity (2V) and third varsity (3V) races to take home the Van Amringe Cup by a narrow margin of 25-23 points. This result ended Yale’s streak of three consecutive wins in Van Amringe Cup competition.
Later in the afternoon session featuring Georgetown and MIT alongside Yale, Georgetown captured the Bulldog Cup while MIT took home the Joy Cup by finishing ahead of Yale in their respective first varsity contests. However, Yale managed victories over MIT in the second varsity race and defeated both schools in third varsity competition.
Looking ahead, Yale will host Columbia and Penn on Saturday, April 11 for two more cup competitions: the Dodge Cup and Colgan Cup.
