DERBY, Conn. – The Olympic Axe remained in the hands of the Bulldogs as the Yale heavyweight crew team defeated Dartmouth to hold onto the title. Yale has captured every Olympic Axe since its inception in 2004. 

Conditions on the Water
It was a beautiful morning on the Housatonic with sunny conditions and temperatures in the low 50's as the Bulldogs and Big Green took the waters at Gilder Boathouse. "I think they performed very well. It was a similar situation now two weekends in a row, said Steve Gladstone, Craig W. Johnson '68 Head Coach of Heavyweight Crew. "In Sarasota, we faced strong tailwinds, which was the same today, but then we also had a strong current as well. In those types of conditions, the elements are moving both boats at the same velocity, so it requires a fair amount of skill to create separation between the boats; it is very difficult."
 
How It Happened
Yale's captured four of the five races on the waters today. The Bulldogs' third varsity squad led the way with a win in the first race of the day. The boat (5:37.20) finished ahead of Dartmouth (5:44.00) by nearly seven seconds.

The fourth varsity squad (05:38.50) captured a seven second victory over the Big Green (05:41.40) in the fourth race, while the fifth varsity (05:41.20) captured a six second victory over Dartmouth (05:47.90) to close out the day.

In the main event, the first varsity boats raced in tricky conditions for Olympic Axe. At the end of it all, the Bulldogs were victorious in their mission to keep the Axe at Gilder. "I was particularly pleased with our finish. With the V8, we have been practicing our sprint in the last 250, and they executed that exceptionally well and really opened up. I am pleased in what they are doing, they are progressing really well," said Gladstone in closing. 

Up Next
Yale is set to host Penn and Columbia in the Blackwell Cup on Saturday, April 15 at Gilder Boathouse.