WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The whipping late afternoon winds of West Windsor were but a prelude to the intense racing that took place this Saturday evening between the Yale and Navy lightweight squads on Lake Mercer. The Bulldogs pulled away with wins in the 2V and 3V, earning them the Van Amringe Cup for highest overall team finish, while the Yale varsity eight was edged out by Navy as they vied for the Johnson Cup. 
 

• The highly anticipated varsity eight contest took place at 6:00 p.m.  Both crews were evenly matched off the line, though Navy slowly inched away in the second 500 meters. The Midshipmen expanded on that lead to nearly a length through the halfway point, though the Bulldogs didn't let Navy take open water. Yale made a charge to cut into Navy's lead in the last few hundred meters of the race, but it wasn't enough to change the outcome. Prior to this race, the Bulldogs had held the Eads Johnson Jr. Cup for 11 consecutive years. 
  
  Varsity stroke seat and captain Itai Almogy emphasized the squad's resilience.
  
  "It's always great to begin the season with tough racing against Navy," said Almogy. "I'm proud of the effort we put together today, and we'll be back to work on the Housatonic tomorrow."

 

• Just 20 minutes before the varsity eight race, the Yale JV put on a strong performance, controlling the race from the beginning. At 5:40 pm, both crews took off from the stake boats at a rapid pace, with the Bulldogs taking seats on Navy within the first dozen strokes. The JV only added to this lead as the race went on, sticking to a strong rhythm and gaining an open water advantage on the Midshipmen by the last few hundred meters, keeping this lead through the line. 

 

• To start off the action-packed slate of evening racing, the Yale and Navy third varsity eights put on a thriller. Launching off the start at 5:20 p.m., the Bulldogs earned the narrowest of leads over the Midshipmen within the first minute. The Navy crew fought hard, not allowing Yale to expand the lead at all in the first half of the race. As the crews reached the midway point, the Bulldogs made a strong push, fighting hard for one seat at a time over the Midshipmen through the next few hundred meters. The Bulldogs' lead stretched out to seven seats and stayed that way until the finish line as Navy tried to push back numerous times. 

 
The victories in the 2V and 3V races earned the Bulldogs the Jon Van Amringe Cup for the second year in a row.

"It was a whole team effort today that allowed us to bring the Van Amringe Cup back to New Haven. Every year after this early season race -- win or lose -- there is always more work to do, " Y150 Alumni Head Coach of Lightweight Crew Andy Card said. 
 
The Bulldogs return to Derby next Saturday for their first home race of the 2024 season, versus the Georgetown Hoyas at 8:20 a.m.

Official results:

1V:
Navy 5:48.81
Yale 5:51.09

2V:
Yale 5:55.22
Navy 5:58.83
 
3V:
Yale 6:10.87
Navy 6:13.14

Below are the lineups for the three Yale crews:
 
1V
Bow       John Cahill / Los Angeles, Calif.
2            Ago Ghiso / Chicago, Ill.
3            Martin Vakoc / Prague, Czech Republic
4            Constantine Polychronopoulos / London, England
5            Andrew Griesinger / Princeton, N.J.
6            Nolan Kaputa / Princeton, N.J.
7            Andres Garcia-Chacon / Coral Gables, Fla.
Stroke    Itai Almogy / Palo Alto, Calif.
Cox        Magdalena Moore / Winthrop, Wash.
 
2V
Bow       Enrico Pradines / Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.
2            Andy Yang / Los Angeles, Calif.
3            Angus Stevenson / London, England
4            Will Konopka / Philadelphia, Penn.
5            Devin Seli / Woodbridge, Conn.
6            Max Blacksten / McLean, Va.
7            Dylan Oberst / Greenwich, Conn.
Stroke    James Casemore / Farnham, England
Cox       Jackie Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
 
3V
Bow      Alexander Judelson / Manhattan, N.Y.
2           Andrew Coli / Mountain View, Calif.
3           Andrew Terkildsen / Lake Forest, Il.
4           Eddie Cavallin / Washington, D.C.
5           Raph Clark / South Hamilton, Mass.
6           Michael Linquata / Berwyn, Penn.
7           Ryan Vaughn / Moraga, Calif.
Stroke   Blake Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
Cox       Fanny Zhang / Ossining, N.Y.