DERBY, Conn. – The spring season for the Yale lightweight crew begins on Saturday Mar. 28, when the Bulldogs open with a pair of races at Overpeck Park in New Jersey as part of the National Collegiate Lightweight Invitational. The ensuing weeks will see Yale face traditional rivals Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Princeton before heading to the EARC Sprints in mid-May. The season culminates at the IRA Championships on Lake Natoma in California at the end of May.
The 2026 Bulldogs are led by captain
Timmy Parsons (Eugene, Ore.), who has set the tone for the squad this offseason by breaking the American lightweight 2k record on the erg (5:58.3). Parsons has been in the 1V since his first season of racing with the Y150 (2022-23). In addition to excelling for the Bulldogs, he has competed for the United States at the U23 World Rowing Championships in each of the last three years. Last summer senior
Will Konopka (Philadelphia, Pa.) competed for the U.S. at the U23 World Rowing Championships as well, giving the Bulldogs another rower with valuable international racing experience.
Senior
Andrew Terkildsen (Lake Forest, Ill.) is the team's Commodore. Terkildsen rowed in the third varsity eight that went undefeated during the regular season in 2023-24, eventually earning bronze at Eastern Sprints.
The Bulldogs have five returnees on the roster from last year's first varsity eight at the IRA National Championships. They also have some notable additions to this year's roster, including 12 first-years.
The 2026 squad will be tested by a schedule that starts with races against Navy (Mar. 28 for the Johnson Cup and the Van Amringe Cup) and Georgetown and MIT (Mar. 28 for the Bulldog Cup and the Joy Cup). In April, Yale hosts Columbia and Penn for the Dodge Cup and the Colgan Cup (Apr. 11), travels to Dartmouth for the Durand Cup (Apr. 18) and travels to Cambridge, Mass., to face Harvard and Princeton for the Goldthwait Cup and the Vogel Cup (Apr. 25).
The Eastern Sprints will take place May 17 on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. Finally, the IRA Championships will be hosted on Lake Natoma in Sacramento County, Calif., May 29-31.
