GALES FERRY, Conn. – There's a dark Blue tint to the Thames River, and it's not drippings of fresh paint from the rock at Bartlett's Cove.

For the first time in 26 years, Yale swept the river in the Yale-Harvard Regatta while the varsity set the upstream course record. The 155^th edition of the famous event was all Blue and White.

The Bulldogs, who won all four events this weekend, including the Snider Cup on Friday night, completed a special season a week after capturing their first Ten Eyck Trophy at IRAs.

"You have to win this if you want to have a good season at Yale," said Steve Gladstone, the Craig W. Johnson '68 Head Coach of Yale Crew.
 
FIRST VARSITY
The 1V's Empacher shell is named "Mairead," which in Ireland translates to pearl. The varsity eight raced a gem today.

Yale jumped out off the start and only saw one challenge from its rival, just after a mile when the lead went from open water to less than a boat length. The Elis, who crossed the finish line almost 25 seconds ahead of the Crimson, broke the upstream record with a time of 18:17.5. Harvard crossed the finish line at 18:42.1.

Gladstone, who was very pumped up by the efforts of his oarsmen, reflected on the race that gave the Blue a fourth straight win against their rival.

"We moved with consistent speed from start to finish. There was no tactic that won that race. It was simply our best effort. The consistency comes not from emotion but devotion to training, and in the devotion to training the oarsmen build bonds, very strong bonds. They are pushing each other and supporting each other. Be very clear, races are not won on race day. Preparation, preparation, preparation."

The last time the Elis swept the three Saturday races was in 1996. The tone was set by the amazing 4V victory on Friday, and the team responded.

"We went off the start like a 2K, said Vlad Saigau, Yale's senior coxswain about the four-mile endeavor. "We were feeling the pacing of it a bit, and we were alright just sitting on them for a while getting into the rhythm. We got halfway and they were throwing everything at us, but they were not going anywhere. At that point we decided to put the hammer down and move. We edged away in the third quarter, that's where you separate men from boys."

Gold medal-winning Olympian Dan Williamson, who got a rousing congratulation from his head coach, was impressed with his boat's effort.

"There's only one way to go into a race like that and it's hard off the line, and then you just listen to Vlad and hold on. The boys executed our race to the T today. Not for one second did a single man hold back, and you could feel it the whole way down the course," said Williamson.
 
SECOND VARSITY
The Elis responded to Harvard's high stroke rate off the start and caught their rival by the mile and a quarter mark. Erasing the Cantab's multiple-seat advantage was enough momentum to push the Bulldogs to open water and finish at 13:29.6, compared to a 13:44.9 by Harvard. That was the finishing touches on a perfect season for the 2V.
 
THIRD VARSITY
The 3V rows the boat "Gales Ferry '96" to motivate crews to do what the Elis did today. The third Yale boat (8:14.3) set the tone today by erasing an early Crimson lead and then winning by more than five seconds. Harvard crossed the line at 8:19.5. Yale's 3V also had an unbeaten campaign.

YALE LINEUPS
1V
Bow     Noah Norman/ Jr – London, England
2          Andrin Gulich/ Sr - Zurich, Switzerland
3          Jack Lopas/ Sr – CAPTAIN – Christchurch, New Zealand
4          Marcus Emmett/Fy – Melbourne, Australia
5          Miles Beeson/ Jr - Aberdeen, Scotland
6          Fergus Hamilton/ Jr – Jindera, Australia
7          Nick Rusher/ Jr – West Bend, Wisconsin
Stroke Daniel Williamson/ Jr – Auckland, New Zealand
Cox      Vlad Saigau/ Sr – London, England
 
2V
Bow     Harry Geffen/ Fy – London, England
2          Daire Lynch/ Sr – Clonmel, Ireland
3          Jack Morton/ Sr – Summit, New Jersey
4          Yaro Mikhaylov/ Fy – Brookline, Massachusetts
5          Alexander McClean/ Fy - Sydney, Australia
6          Josh Hill/ Fy – Victoria, Australia
7          Seth Hope/ Fy – Cambridge, New Zealand
Stroke Liam Galloway/ Jr – Ridgefield, Connecticut
Cox      Harry Keenan/ So – Sydney, Australia
 
3V
Bow     Felix Mebius/ So – Groningen, The Netherlands
2          Patrick Craig/ Jr – London, England
3          Alex Jeremijenko/ Sr – Brisbane, Australia
4          Nick Phillips/ So – Melbourne, Australia
5          Syvert Senumstad/ Fy – Kristiansand, Norway
6          Alex Potter/ So – Sydney, Australia
7          Nikola Bakoc/ Jr – Belgrade, Serbia
Stroke Freddie Elwes/ Sr – Hampshire, England
Cox      Justin Lobo/ So – La Jolla, California