DERBY, Conn. – Only the most faithful of Y150 Blues would have confidently said before the start of the 102nd running of the HYP that the Elis would seize the Vogel Cup as overall team champion from both Harvard and Princeton today. But the Bulldogs did just that with dramatic wins in the first three races, all of them instant classics. The Eli varsity had a less successful outing, finishing behind a commanding Harvard crew after running close to Princeton for the first half. 
 

• A packed Gilder boathouse awaited the stream from the starting line of the 4V 4+ races, with two crews from Yale lined up against one entrant from Harvard. Off the start, the  stagger remained constant through the first hundred meters. As the crews settled in, Harvard pulled even with Yale 'B' and took a few seats on Yale 'A.' Heading into the turn, though, Yale 'A' kept its stroke rate high, passing Yale 'B' and eating into Harvard's slight lead. Yale 'A' then kept up the heat through the midpoint of the race, taking advantage of the inside turn to pull even with Harvard. As the crews cleared the final turning buoys and set their sights straight on the finish line, Yale 'A' and Harvard pulled away, exchanging blows with 750m to go, but Yale 'A' stepped on the pedal, taking the lead and expanding it to nearly a length heading into the final quarter of the race. The crews sprinted with great intensity, but it was Yale 'A' who reached the finish line buoys first, starting the day on a high note with a victory for the Bulldogs. Yale 'B' took third behind Harvard.
   
• The Yale 3V followed closely in the footsteps of their 4V peers, putting on a strong performance in a nail-biter that began at 9:15 a.m. In the opening strokes, Harvard took off fast, taking about four seats on the pack. Through the first 500m, the Crimson built on this lead, stretching its lead to about a length on the Bulldogs, while the Tigers gradually fell away. Heading into the turn, Yale and Harvard pulled away from Princeton, though Harvard made a strong push to remain up on Yale. With only 750m left to go on their home course, the Bulldogs were down by seven seats. It was at this point that Yale started its sprint, driving the stroke rate high to take seats on Harvard. With 500m to go and the Crimson's lead still holding at about half a length, Yale found another gear, taking more seats through the second-to-last 250m. At the final 100m mark – about 10 strokes left in the race – Yale was still down by a seat, but in a tremendous surge pushed through Harvard to take a two-seat lead by the line. 
   
• The atmosphere at Gilder was abuzz after these first two Bulldog victories, but another seat-grabber of a race was still to come – the 9:45 a.m. lightweight JV contest. Similar to the prior two events, Harvard was quick off the line, taking a lead on Yale, who was followed by Princeton. Harvard held its lead through the first 750m while Yale and Princeton battled fiercely. Through the turn, the Bulldogs had a few seats on the Tigers, but were still trailing the Crimson. Entering the last 1000m, Yale and Princeton had cut through Harvard's lead so that the three crews were charging down the course with little separation; it was anybody's race. In the third 500m, Yale and Princeton competed closely for the lead as Harvard dropped away slightly. The Bulldogs held the advantage on Princeton, who was in turn followed by Harvard as the three crews blitzed through the final few hundred meters in front of Gilder. The Yale JV emptied their gas tank in these last few strokes to stave off Princeton by just a few seats as the crews were greeted by the thunderous roar of spectators and onlooking teammates. 
  
  "I could not be prouder of all of the guys in our boat. We knew this was going to be one of the toughest races of the year, and it sure was. It was a very emotional win for the four seniors in this boat, who were racing for the last time at home," said senior and JV 3-seat Andres Garcia-Chacon.

 

• Half an hour later, the varsity contest for the Goldthwait Cup began. Harvard controlled the race from the beginning, taking an early lead on Princeton and Yale, who remained level through the first few hundred meters. Towards the halfway point, the crews separated, with Harvard building upon its lead and Princeton beginning to pull away from Yale. All three crews competed intensely to the finish line, but their positions remained largely unchanged during the second half of the race. Harvard secured a commanding victory, finishing about a boat length ahead of Princeton. Yale trailed behind Princeton, with some open water separating them.

 
For winning the varsity eight race, Harvard was awarded the Goldthwait Cup. Yale, having won victories in the JV, 3V, and 4V races, retook the Vogel Cup for overall team points. 
 
The Bulldogs will now head into an extended period of training as they gear up for the Eastern Sprints Championship on May 19 in Worcester, Mass.
 
Below are the official results:
 
1V
Harvard 5:44.4
Princeton 5:49.7
Yale 5:58.8

2V
Yale 5:49.2
Princeton 5:50.16
Harvard 5:53.9
 
3V
Yale 5:58.6
Harvard 5:59.7
Princeton 6:17.3
 
4V4+
Yale 'A' 6:44.1
Harvard 6:46.8
Yale 'B' 6:55.6

Here are the Yale lineups:
 
1V
Cox       Magdalena Moore / Winthrop, Wash.
Stroke   Itai Almogy / Palo Alto, Calif.
7           Martin Vakoc / Prague, Czech Republic
6           Andy Yang / Los Angeles, Calif.
5           Michael Steinthal / Greenwich, Conn.
4           Max Blacksten / McLean, Va.
3           Andrew Griesinger / Princeton, N.J.
2           Ryan Vaughn / Moraga, Calif.
Bow      John Cahill / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
2V
Cox        Jackie Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
Stroke    James Casemore / Farnham, England
7            Dylan Oberst / Greenwich, Conn.
6            Constantine Polychronopoulos / London, England
5            Enrico Pradines / Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.
4            Ago Ghiso / Chicago, Ill.
3            Andres Garcia-Chacon / Coral Gables, Fla.
2            Nolan Kaputa / Princeton, N.J.
Bow       Devin Seli / Woodbridge, Conn.
 
3V
Cox        Fanny Zhang / Ossining, N.Y.
Stroke    Blake Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
7            Alexander Judelson / Manhattan, N.Y.
6            Michael Linquata / Berwyn, Penn.
5            Raph Clark / South Hamilton, Mass.
4            Angus Stevenson / London, England
3            Andrew Terkildsen / Lake Forest, Il.
2            Thomas Monaghan / London, England
Bow       Will Konopka / Philadelphia, Penn.
 
3V4+ 'A'
Cox        Akshay Khunte / Higganum, Conn.
Stroke    Paden Nichols / Des Moines, Wash.
3            Maxwell Raabe / Old Greenwich, Conn
2            Harry Waters / Old Greenwich, Conn.
Bow       Eddie Cavallin / Washington, D.C.
 
3V4+ 'B'
Cox        Pearl Mallick / Dartmouth, Mass.
Stroke    Brandon Fernandez / Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.
3            Andrew Coli / Mountain View, Calif.
2            Austin Lee / Los Angeles, Calif.
Bow       Jonny Auh / Scottsdale, Ariz.