What a Day in Worcester: Harvard Heavyweight Crew Takes Varsity and Freshman Gold, Rowe Cup
The Crimson celebrates five medal-winning performances and a
Rowe Cup team title.
WORCESTER, Mass. —The Harvard heavyweight varsity and freshman eights were among four Crimson boats to claim gold medals as the team captured its 30th Rowe Cup at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Sprints Championships on a sunny Sunday of fast rowing on Lake Quinsigamond.
The Crimson varsity, which entered seeded second and ranked fourth nationally, left with its 26th Eastern title and 26th Ivy League crown. It was the fifth title in eight years for Harvard's top boat. The freshmen, meanwhile, won their second crown in three years and 21st overall. The fourth varsity eight and the freshman four also earned gold medals, and the Crimson raced in all six grand finals after winning each of its four morning heats. Every competing freshman won a gold medal.
In the varsity eight race, Harvard avenged its only previous loss by beating third-place Brown and defeated runner-up Princeton in a full race after the Tigers did not finish their April 17 dual race against Harvard due to a collision. The Crimson led throughout, but the contest was close among the top three crews. The key was a surge by Harvard in the third 500 meters, giving the Crimson some breathing room en route to a 2.5-second win in 5:33.007.
The members of the varsity eight earned first-team All-Ivy League honors: coxswain Kelly Evans and oarsmen Patrick Lapage, Matt Edstein, Nick Jordan, David Wakulich, Sam O'Connor, Michael DiSanto, Anthony Locke and captain Blake Pucsek. Harvard earned its sixth team championship in nine years, totaling 37 points, four more than Princeton.
The freshman eight final was tight throughout among Harvard, Princeton and Cornell. The Crimson and Tigers pulled away from the Big Red in the final 500 meters, and Princeton edged ahead before Harvard employed a tremendous sprint. The Crimson passed the Tigers in the final strokes and won by about a half-second in 5:37.298. Harvard's freshman eight gold medalists are coxswain David Fuller and oarsmen Peter Scholle, James O'Connor, Parker Washburn, Justin Mundt, Jason Phillips, Eli Shikaloff, Alex MacIntosh and Josh Hicks.
Harvard's first win came in the day's first race, as the freshman four easily handled MIT by nearly 10 seconds and Penn by more than 15. That boat was made up of Matthew Vincent, Nolan Pollock, William Polachek, Tom Hanson and coxswain Colby Wilkason.
The Crimson fourth varsity trailed the rest of the field in the first half of its race but took off at 1,000 meters to overtake its opponents and go on to an open-water win. Harvard's crew of coxswain Tian Feng, Alex Housser, Davide Paresky, Edward Winters Ronaldson, Karl Hirt, Andrew Stein, Andrew Safir, Mihailo Malowany and Andrew Hamm finished more than five seconds ahead of second-place Brown.
The third varsity eight also medaled, earning a bronze when it finished less than a second behind Brown and less than three behind Wisconsin. The second varsity missed a medal by one spot, finishing fourth in its grand final.
For more full Sprints race videos, visit this YouTube Channel.
Team Standings
Harvard 37
Princeton 33
Brown 30
Cornell 28
Wisconsin 27
Columbia 18
Boston University 15
Syracuse 15
Dartmouth 13
Northeastern 12
Yale 10
Navy 8
Georgetown 8
Penn 2
George Washington 0
Holy Cross 0
MIT 0
Rutgers 0
Varsity Eight
Heat 2
Harvard
5:39.520
Princeton
5:41.203
Cornell
5:41.997
Navy
5:47.286
Penn
5:53.999
MIT 6:21.519
Grand Final
Harvard
5:33.007
Princeton
5:35.507
Brown
5:36.917
Wisconsin
5:39.208
Dartmouth
5:39.243
Columbia 5:43.481
Second Varsity Eight
Heat 1
Harvard
5:48.348
Cornell
5:49.658
Boston
University5:53.805
Dartmouth
6:01.735
George Washington
6:14.968
Holy Cross 6:23.923
Grand Final
Brown
5:36.362
Cornell
5:38.608
Wisconsin
5:39.260
Harvard
5:44.558
Princeton
5:45.124
Northeastern 5:54.094
Freshman Eight
Heat 1
Harvard
5:50.042
Columbia
5:51.337
Penn
5:54.859
Brown
57.615
Dartmouth 6:04.392
Grand Final
Harvard
5:37.298
Princeton
5:37.786
Cornell
5:41.024
Boston University
5:43.833
Georgetown
5:46.920
Columbia 5:50.553
Third Varsity Eight
Heat 1
Harvard
5:52.563
Brown
5:54.841
Cornell
5:56.732
Penn
6:05.702
Navy6:09.058
Grand Final
Wisconsin
5:41.300
Brown
5:43.349
Harvard
5:44.130
Cornell
5:48.973
Yale
5:51.614
Princeton 5:53.874
Fourth Varsity Eight
Grand Final
Harvard
6:04.489
Brown
6:09.647
Navy 6:12.195
Freshman Four
Grand Final
Harvard
6:43.157
MIT
6:52.602
Penn 7:08.784
