DERBY, Conn. – Rowing fans – Yale and Georgetown alike – know well that the teams' annual dual regatta is unpredictable, with the only certainty being close races and nail-biting finishes, all under the pressure that tough weather conditions bring. This time around, things were no different. In a series of three exhilarating races Saturday morning on the Housatonic, the Bulldogs came away with three victories, securing a clean sweep for their home opener.

• It took some appreciable time to get the varsity race between Yale and Georgetown underway, but for the spectators at the finish line at the Gilder Boathouse the barn-burner of a race was well worth their patience. Approximately forty minutes after the intended start time of 9:00 a.m., both crews rocketed out of the stake boats, using the strong tail wind to full advantage. The Hoyas raced hard off the line to gain an early lead, taking six seats over the Bulldogs by the halfway point and extending that margin to nearly a full length as the two crews came around the last turning buoys. With only 750 meters to go, the Elis halted Georgetown's momentum and began to close the distance inch by inch. This was punctuated by a strong surge at the 500 meter mark, earning the Bulldogs a narrow lead over the Hoyas by the final 100 meters. The two Blue crews sprinted with everything they had in this last stretch, but it was the Yale lightweights who crossed the finish line first—by 1.3 seconds.  
  
  The victory in the varsity eight earned Yale the right to etch the first entry into the Bulldog Cup — a Cup introduced this year to commemorate the burgeoning rivalry between the two squads.
   
• The JV crews put on their own show just an hour prior to the varsity race. Both crews started off hot, remaining deadlocked through the first 750 meters. Yale made gains through the turn, but the Hoyas didn't let up, forcing the Bulldogs to work for each seat. By the final few hundred meters, Yale was up by a length on Georgetown, and sprinted hard to maintain this position to the line.
   
• This chilly morning of racing began at 8:20 a.m. with a three-boat contest that included the two third varsity eights as well as Yale's fourth varsity. Over time, as it emerged that the Yale 3V was sliding away for the win, a terrific battle between the Hoya 3V and Yale 4V ensued. It took a while for the Yale 4V to get going, and though Georgetown trailed the Yale 3V, the Hoyas were up on Yale's fourth boat entry. In the second quarter of the race, however, the Yale 4V gathered itself and made a long push to get their bow ahead just slightly at the 1000 meter mark. The two crews stayed deadlocked with Yale 3-4 seats up on the Hoyas, when a final push in the last quarter got Yale's bow ball ahead for good. 

While Yale came away with the win this morning, captain Itai Almogy highlighted the team's mission to continue improving.

"I'm proud of this group of guys for racing hard today and coming away with wins across the board, including the first Bulldog Cup. Every year this race is as intense as it comes, and I am glad we had a good day. We'll get back to work in Derby tomorrow."

The Bulldogs travel to Overpeck Park in New Jersey next week as they vie for the Dodge and Colgan Cups against Ivy League opponents Columbia and Penn.
 

• Photo Gallery

Here are the official results:

1V
Yale 5:33.0
Georgetown 5:34.3

2V
Yale 5:37.4
Georgetown 5:39.6

3V
Yale 5:46.7
Yale 4V 5:57.8
Georgetown 6:03.3
 
Below are the lineups for the four Yale crews:
 
1V
Cox        Magdalena Moore / Winthrop, Wash.
Stroke   James Casemore / Farnham, England
7            Andres Garcia-Chacon / Coral Gables, Fla.
6            Itai Almogy / Palo Alto, Calif.
5            Michael Steinthal / Greenwich, Conn.
4            Nolan Kaputa / Princeton, N.J.
3            Andrew Griesinger / Princeton, N.J.
2            Constantine Polychronopoulos / London, England
Bow       John Cahill / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
2V
Cox        Jackie Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
Stroke    Max Blacksten / McLean, Va.
7            Martin Vakoc / Prague, Czech Republic
6            Andy Yang / Los Angeles, Calif.
5            Dylan Oberst / Greenwich, Conn.
4            Will Konopka / Philadelphia, Penn.
3            Angus Stevenson / London, England
2            Ago Ghiso / Chicago, Ill.
Bow       Devin Seli / Woodbridge, Conn.
 
3V
Cox        Fanny Zhang / Ossining, N.Y.
Stroke    Blake Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
7            Ryan Vaughn / Moraga, Calif.
6            Michael Linquata / Berwyn, Penn.
5            Raph Clark / South Hamilton, Mass.
4            Eddie Cavallin / Washington, D.C.
3            Andrew Terkildsen / Lake Forest, Il.
2            Andrew Coli / Mountain View, Calif.
Bow       Alexander Judelson / Manhattan, N.Y.
 
4V
Cox        Akshay Khunte / Higganum, Conn.
Stroke    Paden Nichols / Des Moines, Wash.
7            Jonny Auh / Scottsdale, Ariz.
6            Harry Waters / Old Greenwich, Conn.
5            Eli Simon / Woodside, Calif.
4            Brandon Fernandez / Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.
3            Maxwell Raabe / Old Greenwich, Conn.
2            Austin Lee / Los Angeles, Calif.
Bow       Clay Hard / New York, N.Y.