HANOVER, N.H. — Against the woody backdrop along the flat waters of the Connecticut River Saturday morning, the Yale lightweight crew competed with the Dartmouth Big Green across three boat classes. The Bulldogs emerged victorious in the JV race, but fell to Dartmouth in the varsity eight and fours races. For the first time since 2012, the Durand Cup will stay in Hanover.
 

• The glass waters of the Connecticut River were first cut by the JV crews of Yale and Dartmouth at 9:00 a.m.  Yale got out to an early lead, taking half a length on the Green in the first couple hundred meters. As the Dartmouth crew settled into their base rhythm, they began to push back, eating into Yale's lead until they were but two seats down by the midpoint of the course. With 750 meters to go, the Bulldogs responded, charging forward to take seats on Dartmouth. Yale kept the heat on as it sprinted away in the tail end of the race, winning by open water.  

• Following the JV's impressive showing was the varsity eight race at 9:20 a.m.  Similar to their peers in the JV, the Yale varsity eight had a fast start, gaining half a length on Dartmouth within the first 500 meters. The second 500 saw the Blue and the Green trading blows, with Dartmouth slowly clawing its way back until the crews were even at the 1000m mark. In the third 500, Yale fought hard but couldn't halt Dartmouth's momentum as the Big Green emerged as the race leader. Dartmouth's varsity eight expanded this lead, seat by seat, pushing out to about six seats over Yale by the closing few strokes to secure victory. 
  
  With its win in the varsity eight, Dartmouth brought home the Durand Cup for the first time in the last 9 competitions over the past 11 years.
   
• The day finished with a 9:40 a.m. race between Yale's two 4V fours and Dartmouth's 3V four -- the Yale 3V stayed home this weekend. All three crews had strong starts, remaining fairly even out of the stake boats. As the crews settled in during the second 500m, Dartmouth pushed the pace, keeping its cadence high and walking away steadily from the two Yale fours until it had open water. From here on, it was a battle for second place. Yale 'A' made a move in the third 500m, taking about a three seat lead on Yale 'B.' The two crews fought to the finish line, but Yale 'A' managed to hold off Yale 'B,' finishing second behind Dartmouth.

 

• Next week, Yale will conclude its 2024 regular season racing by welcoming historic rivals Harvard and Princeton to Gilder Boathouse. 

 
Below are the official results from the three races this morning:
 
1V
Dartmouth 5:37.7
Yale 5:40.0
 
2V
Yale 5:51.2
Dartmouth 5:54.3
 
V4+
Dartmouth 6:42.8
Yale 'A' 6:50.9
Yale 'B' 6:52.1
 
Here are the Yale lineups:
 
1V
Cox       Magdalena Moore / Winthrop, Wash.
Stroke   Itai Almogy / Palo Alto, Calif.
7           Martin Vakoc / Prague, Czech Republic
6           Nolan Kaputa / Princeton, N.J.
5           Michael Steinthal / Greenwich, Conn.
4           Ago Ghiso / Chicago, Ill.
3           Andrew Griesinger / Princeton, N.J.
2           James Casemore / Farnham, England
Bow      John Cahill / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
2V
Cox        Jackie Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
Stroke    Enrico Pradines / Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.
7            Ryan Vaughn / Moraga, Calif.
6            Andres Garcia-Chacon / Coral Gables, Fla.
5            Andy Yang / Los Angeles, Calif.
4            Dylan Oberst / Greenwich, Conn.
3            Max Blacksten / McLean, Va.
2            Devin Seli / Woodbridge, Conn.
Bow       Constantine Polychronopoulos / London, England
 
3V4+ 'A'
Cox        Mai Blaustein / Harrison, N.Y.
Stroke    Austin Lee / Los Angeles, Calif.
3            Andrew Coli / Mountain View, Calif.
2            Brandon Fernandez / Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.
Bow       Jonny Auh / Scottsdale, Ariz.
 
3V4+ 'B'
Cox        Pearl Mallick / Dartmouth, Mass.
Stroke    Harry Waters / Old Greenwich, Conn.
3            Eli Simon / Woodside, Calif.
2            Clay Hard / New York, N.Y.
Bow       Maxwell Raabe / Old Greenwich, Conn.