DERBY, Conn. – The Yale heavyweight crew team captured the Blackwell Cup on the Housatonic River, defeating both Penn and Columbia. The regatta saw Yale's boats take all four races at Gilder Boathouse.
 
Penn and Yale were the main landlords for the trophy up until 2008 when Columbia won for the first time in 67 years. With today's victory, the Bulldogs have won every Blackwell Cup since 2010 (12-consecutive).
 
Thoughts from Coach Gladstone
"Overall, the racing was solid. The varsity has improved week over week. Today was much stronger in the first 800 meters of the race, which is a byproduct of adjustments made to the structure of the stoke off the line. We stayed with it all the way down the course with a lift near the end, happy with the effort," said Steve Gladstone, Craig W. Johnson '68 Head Coach of Heavyweight Crew.
 
"For the junior varsity, still a lot of work to be done in terms of personnel and the combination of the lineup," Gladstone continued. "The 3V, 4V, and 5V boats executed exceptionally. A lot of positives from those races."
 
How It Happened

• The varsity 8 squad came out ready to row on the waters of the Housatonic. The V8 boat (05:35.60) defeated Penn (05:49.20) by almost 14 seconds and Columbia (05:54.00) by 18 seconds to take the Blackwell Cup.
• The remaining races saw only Yale and Penn featured. Yale's second varsity (06:02.00) captured a four-second victory over Penn's 2V squad (06:06.30).
• In the third varsity race, the Bulldogs' boat (05:47.10) finished five seconds faster than Penn (06:02.40).
• The fourth varsity sides from Yale and Penn competed alongside Yale's fifth varsity. Both Bulldogs' boats took the top two spots as the 4V finished at 6:06.10 and the 5V finished at 06:16.60, while Penn finished at 06:30.90.

 
Looking Ahead
Yale has one more race before the squad heads into the most important stretch of their season. The Bulldogs will face Princeton and Cornell on the New Jersey waters on April 22.