NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Championship season for Yale lightweight crew begins Sunday at the EARC Sprints Championship on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The Bulldogs will take a fleet of three eight-man crews to compete for three separate cups and vie for a spot at the IRA National Championship Regatta, which takes place later this month.
The EARC Men's Lightweight Sprints League includes seven Ivy League schools along with Georgetown, M.I.T. and Navy. The 1V and 2V crews of each school will compete in preliminary heats on Sunday morning. The top three crews from each morning heat will move on to the afternoon grand finals, with the rest competing in the petite finals. The seven 3V crews go straight to a grand final (no heats).
The first varsity crews will compete for the Wright Cup, named in honor of Joseph "Joe" Wright, rowing coach at Penn and a seminal figure in American lightweight rowing. It is currently held by Harvard. Yale last won it in 2022. The Yale 1V, ranked No. 5, begins its day with an 8:50 a.m. heat, with the top three boats advancing to the grand final and the remaining two boats heading to the petite final.
Yale's heat is comprised of No. 1 Harvard, No. 4 Princeton, No. 8 Dartmouth and No. 9 Navy.
The Yale 2V will compete for the Cornell Trophy, the gift of Cornell's 1949 150 pound American Henley Championship Crew. It is currently held by Harvard. The Yale JV will race in a 9:20 a.m. heat, with the top three boats advancing to the grand final and the remaining two boats heading to the petite final. Yale's heat includes No. 2 Princeton, No. 3 Penn, No. 6 Dartmouth and No. 10 Cornell.
The Yale 3V will compete for the Kilpatrick Cup. Named after longtime Princeton lightweight coach Gary Kilpatrick, the cup currently belongs to Harvard. The Yale 3V races in the grand final at 2:20 p.m.
The 1V, 2V, and 3V races will count towards the Jope Cup for team points. Yale last won that trophy in 2022.
This will be the last showing of the Y150 in full force for the 2026 season. Following Sprints a smaller squad will train for IRAs, which take place May 29-31 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
Below is the schedule for Sunday's racing:
8:50 a.m. 1V Heat 1 (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Navy)
9:20 a.m. 2V Heat 2 (Princeton, Penn, Dartmouth, Yale, Cornell)
2:20 p.m. 3V Grand Final (Princeton, Penn, Harvard, Georgetown, Navy, Yale, Columbia)
3:04 p.m. 2V Petite Final
3:14 p.m. 2V Grand Final
4:06 p.m. 1V Petite Final
4:16 p.m. 1V Grand Final
