Yale Varsity Eight WCREW vs. Harvard 2026

Women's Rowing 4/25/2026 3:12:00 PM Jessica Burg

No. 5 Bulldogs Retain Case Cup with Home Sweep Against Harvard-Radcliffe

DERBY, CONN. – The No. 5 Yale women's crew team delivered a complete performance on Saturday morning, sweeping Harvard-Radcliffe across all five races on the Housatonic River and retaining the Case Cup with a commanding varsity eight victory.

Racing in 10–15 mph increasing headwinds with rolling swells over most of the 2,000-meter course, the Bulldogs handled the conditions throughout the morning. Yale won the varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity eight, varsity four and second varsity four events against the Black and White.

Notable Performances

Stroked by Tess Peake, Yale's varsity eight retained the Case Cup with a dominant win in 6:34.8, ahead of Harvard-Radcliffe's 6:52.3.
The second varsity eight finished first in 6:45.6, defeating Harvard-Radcliffe by 10.8 seconds (6:56.4).
Yale's varsity four claimed victory in 7:36.7, crossing the line 18.1 seconds ahead of Harvard-Radcliffe (7:54.8).
The Bulldogs' second varsity four won in 7:42.8, ahead of Yale's third varsity four (8:05.3) and Harvard-Radcliffe (8:10.9).
Yale's third varsity eight capped the sweep with a 7:03.8 finish, 26.2 seconds ahead of Harvard-Radcliffe (7:30.0).

Hear from Friends of YWC Head Coach Will Porter

On the team's performance: "Overall we raced well in bad conditions. The water was tough, but we are used to it by now."
On the varsity eight: "The varsity is moving well. They are focused and steadily gaining speed and they know it.
On the second varsity eight: "The 2V has been shuffled this week and they responded well to that challenge. I thought they raced better this week."
On the varsity four: "We are starting to finally find some separation in our fours mix. All three fours raced well in big water and a strong head wind."
On the third varsity eight: "They are in constant change mode and they stay positive. They raced really well this week."