PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – For the second consecutive year, Yale women's crew posted a top-five finish at the NCAA Championship. The Bulldogs amassed 110 points, tied with two-time defending NCAA champion Texas, but the Longhorns earned fourth place by virtue of a higher finish in the varsity eight grand final.
All three of Yale's crews finished in the top six for the first time since 2009. The varsity four earned a silver medal, the second varsity eight was fourth and varsity eight placed sixth.
It was the seventh top-five finish and 18th top-10 finish all-time for the Bulldogs.
"I'm proud of the team. It was a hard-fought finish," said
Will Porter, The Friends of YWC Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "It feels a little different than last year. We wanted a little more this year, but it's elite company that we are in. This year's regatta was very fast."
Stanford captured the NCAA Championship with 129 points, nine more than second-place Washington. Yale finished ahead of perennial NCAA powers California (eighth), Virginia (10th), Michigan (11th) and Ohio State (12th.)
The varsity four's second-place finish matched the best in school history for the crew. The varsity four also was the runner up in 2015. The Bulldogs' time of 7:06.900 was a little over two seconds behind first-place Texas. It was a two-team race as Yale finished nearly five seconds faster than third-place Brown.
"The varsity four had an amazing run," Porter said. "They are Ivy champions, and they came here and really held tight right through that final race. It was a strong regatta for them."
In the second varsity eight, the Bulldogs sat in first place, narrowly ahead of Stanford after 500 meters, but the Cardinal grabbed the lead over the next 500 and never relinquished it. Yale finished with a time of 6:27.779, just behind third-place California (6:27.539). Stanford won in 6:24.851, ahead of second-place Washington (6:26.177). Less than two seconds separated second place from fourth place.
The varsity eight, which qualified for the grand final for the first time since 2017, had a time of 6:33.158. Stanford won with an impressive time of 6:17.154, more than two seconds faster than second-place Washington (6:19.558).
Having all three crews compete for a national championship showed the depth of Yale's program. It was the first time since 2009 that all three crews qualified for the grand finals.
"There aren't a lot of programs in the country that can put three crews into the grand finals," Porter said. "This is the most competitive regatta in our country right now. It's faster than the U23 Championships. It's hard fought."
YALE BOATINGS
Varsity Eight
Bow:
Anna Scott (Sr., Denver, Colo.)
2:
Lauren Carey (Jr., Harrogate, England & Cape Town, South Africa)
3:
Margaret Hedeman (Sr., Concord, Mass.)
4:
Mia Levy (So., Des Moines, Iowa)
5:
Nicole Martinez (So., Asuncion, Paraguay)
6:
Christina Bourmpou (Thessaloniki, Greece)
7:
Lucy Edmunds (Sr., North Yorkshire, Great Britain)
8:
Veronica Wall (Sr., Ashburton, New Zealand)
cox:
Grace Menke (Jr., Sarasota, Florida)
Second Varsity Eight
Bow:
Sophie Houston (Jr., Sydney, Australia)
2:
Emmeline Laurence (Sr., Greenland, N.H.)
3:
Maddie Moore (So., Naples, Fla.)
4:
Sophia Hahn (Jr., Braselton, Ga.)
5:
Maya Meschkuleit (Jr., Mississauga, Canada)
6:
Christiana Congdon (Sr., Stonington, Conn.)
7:
Mette Køchs-Nielsen (Sr., Aarhus, Denmark)
8:
Hanna Winter (Jr., Lubeck, Germany)
cox:
Esha Bhattacharya (Jr., San Ramon, Calif.)
Varsity Four
Bow:
Hannah Johns (Sr., Longmeadow, Mass.)
2:
Imogen Cabot (Fy., Cambridge, Mass.)
3:
Charlotte Fennell (Sr., Amersham, England)
4:
Violet Barletta (So., Boston, Mass.)
cox:
Hope Galusha (Fy., Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Alternates
Lily Eales (So., Sydney, Australia)
Marie Ramm (So., Birkereod, Denmark)
