WORCESTER, Mass. — Coming out of the morning heats, all five Bulldog boats qualified for the afternoon grand finals at Eastern Sprints, hosted on Lake Quinsigamond. Yale heavyweight crew saw three boats reach the podium, with the fourth and fifth varsity eights capturing gold and the third varsity taking home bronze.
 
A complete list of results from the 2025 Eastern Sprints Championships can be found here.

Reflections from Coach Gennaro
"I'm very pleased with the performances of our crews at the Eastern Sprints. The 1V entered the weekend ranked 6th and finished 4th, delivering what I believe were their two best races of the year. They finished ahead of two crews that had beaten us earlier this spring, which is a testament to how much they came together in the days leading up to the event. I'm thrilled with how they raced in both their heat and the final on Sunday," said Mike Gennaro, Craig W. Johnson '68 Head Coach of Heavyweight Crew.

"The 2V, ranked 5th, also finished 5th. While that result was disappointing and not reflective of their true potential, the level of competition across the league is extremely high this year. Unfortunately, that's the reality when you're not at your best against top-tier crews. That said, the 2V is motivated and eager to get back to work as we prepare for the I.R.A. National Championships in two weeks. The 3V, ranked 4th, finished 3rd; the 4V, ranked 3rd, took 1st; and the 5V, ranked 1st, held their top spot with a 1st-place finish. I'm incredibly proud of the oarsmen in these boats. Their hard work throughout the season has been evident, and it's incredibly rewarding to see their dedication pay off."

How It Happened

Fifth Varsity (5V):

• The fifth varsity event, which did not include heats, featured a seven-lane grand final to open the afternoon racing. Led by coxswain Emerson Harris and stroke Andrew Bittner, Yale surged to victory in 6:05.85, finishing nearly four seconds ahead of Brown (6:09.90) to capture the title.

Fourth Varsity (4V):

• Led by coxswain Grace Dodd and stroked by Drew Cavanaugh, the fourth varsity eight edged out Harvard by a razor-thin margin to secure the win. Yale crossed in 5:49.57, just ahead of the Crimson's 5:49.629, a margin of only 0.059 seconds.

Third Varsity (3V):

• The third varsity crew earned a bronze medal with a time of 5:51.776, finishing behind Harvard and Princeton, who tied for first at 5:44.868.

Second Varsity (2V):

• Yale's 2V boat placed fifth in the grand final, clocking in at 5:49.078.

First Varsity (1V):

• In the final race of the day, the varsity eight finished fourth with a time of 5:38.275. Harvard took first (5:33.895), followed by Dartmouth (5:35.577) and Princeton (5:37.575).

Looking Ahead
Yale now turns its attention to the IRA National Championships, set for May 30-June 1 in Camden, New Jersey. The Bulldogs will have two weeks to prepare for the final test of the 2024-25 season.
 
Boat Lineups
 
1V

Bow	Ben Heathcote / London, England
2	Alexander McClean / Sydney, Australia
3	Aksel Wergeland / Bergen, Vestland, Norway
4	Ben Mead / Cambridge, England
5	Harry Geffen / London, U.K.
6	Yaroslav Mikhaylov / Brookline, Mass.
7	Marcus Emmett / Melbourne, Australia
Stroke	John Patton / Boston, Mass.
Coxswain	Thomas Allen / Mill Valley, Calif.

 
2V

Bow	Einar Bjorvik / Bergen, Norway
2	Angus Gray-Cheape / Oxford, U.K.
3	Ulrik Lohne / Lier, Norway
4	Zac Day / London, England
5	Scott Moorcroft / Adelaide, South Africa
6	Honza Vacek / Prague, Czech Republic
7	Stewart Fuqua / Arlington, Va.
Stroke	Syvert Senumstad / Kristiansand, Norway
Coxswain	Aahana Mehta-Vasisht / San Mateo, Calif.

 
3V

Bow	Jamie Ginsberg / London, England
2	Felix Peerless / London, England
3	William Sharis / Bettendorf, Iowa
4	Max Peel / London, England
5	Jakov Bijelic / Zagreb, Croatia
6	Seth Hope / Cambridge, New Zealand
7	Matthew Hansen / London, England
Stroke	Luca Liautaud / London, England
Coxswain	Nate Ly / St. Louis, MO

4V

Bow	Max Gillard / London, England
2	William Porter / Madison, Conn.
3	George Beer / Oxford, U.K.
4	Stribor Cizmek / Zagreb, Croatia
5	Josh Hill / Victoria, Australia
6	Joe Long / Chalfont St. Peter, United Kingdom
7	Max Jeremijenko / Brisbane, Australia
Stroke	Drew Cavanaugh / Riverside, Conn.
Coxswain	Grace Dodd / Washington, D.C.

 
5V

Bow	Luka Visacki / Belgrade, Serbia
2	William Burges-Watson / Devon, England
3	Jan Dziedzic / Warsaw, Poland
4	Alek Balassa / Winnetka, Ill.
5	Magnus Randall / Melbourne, Australia
6	Edward Sharp / Oxford, United Kingdom
7	Clemi Scherzer / Newton, Mass.
Stroke	Andrew Bittner / Boston, Mass.
Coxswain	Emerson Harris / Southport Island, ME