Yale boats dominant at Eastern Sprints

WORCESTER — The happy Yale oarsmen broke out into a rendition of “Our House” in a joyous celebration as the trophies piled up on the dock at Regatta Point on Lake Quinsigamond yesterday.

Yale left no doubt about its supremacy, winning both the Rowe Cup (heavyweight) and Jope Cup (lightweight) in the 53rd Eastern Sprints rowing regatta.

Yale included a five-peat performance in the heavyweight grand finals with a convincing wire-to-wire firstplace effort. The five straight wins by Yale marked the first time one school has captured that many in succession since Harvard won seven straight from 1964-1970 in the early coaching era of the late Harry Parker.

Yale easily hit the line in first place with a time of 6:16.2, almost two full boat lengths in front of runner-up Harvard (6:22.0). They were followed by Brown (6:24.8), Princeton (6:28.3), Northeastern (6:29.6), and Boston University (6:24.8).

Yale and Harvard tied for total points in Rowe Cup competition, but the Bulldogs took home the hardware based on its victory in the varsity heavyweight final. On the day, Yale crews won 5-of-8 grand finals contested.

Yale was in lane 3 and matched in the grand final against Princeton (lane 1), Harvard (lane 2), BU (lane 4), Northeastern (lane 5) and Brown (lane 6). That was arguably the last time those five foes managed to get that close to the Bulldogs, who rowed at a 35-strokesper-minute cadence to grab a comfortable lead in the opening 500 meters and never look back.

“It was a great race. It didn’t end the way we wanted, but you have to take it in stride. It’s an improvement (from third place last year). Sometimes it’s good enough and sometimes it isn’t. The important thing is that you give your best,’’ Harvard coach Charley Butt said.

Yale lightweight crews celebrated with the Jope Cup, emblematic of lightweight supremacy in third varsity, JV, and varsity racing based on total points. It was the first Jope Cup for the Bulldogs since 2016.