Stronger Lower Boat Performances Could Maintain Crew Teams’ Momentum This Weekend

All of the Columbia rowing teams will be in action this week, and all three will be looking to finish at the top of their respective fields. The women’s team will be traveling south to compete in the Virginia Invitational, which is taking place in Charlottesville, Va. Both the lightweight and heavyweight men’s teams will be staying slightly closer to home. The lightweight team will be competing in the Wit Cup, which is being held at the Orchard Beach Lagoon in Pelham, N.Y. The heavyweight squad will travel to Philadelphia for the Childs Cup.

The women will be looking to use the momentum that they built up with their second-place finishes against Princeton and Rutgers last weekend. The women’s varsity eight was able to stick with the Princeton boat until the third 500 meters of the contest and clocked in about a length behind Princeton. The Columbia novice eight placed third and the varsity four team trailed Princeton during an entire race in which Rutgers did not compete. Although this was a good showing for the Lions, they will need to regroup and have stronger showings from all of their boats.

After its guest appearance last weekend in the Fosburgh Cup, the men’s lightweight team will be competing in its first home meet of the season when it faces off against Navy and Rutgers. At the meet last weekend, the Lions varsity eight had a strong performance when it finished nine seconds behind Princeton, one of the top teams in the nation. However, like the women, the lightweight men will need to have a better showing from their lower boats. This weekend looks like an ideal time for the lower boats to contribute to the Lions winning the cup.

The men’s heavyweight team has had an impressive season so far, winning its past two contests by impressive margins. The men hope to come back to the city victorious after they face off against Princeton and host Penn. The Quakers are coming off of two days of tough competition at the San Diego Crew Classic in California, where they faced impressive teams like Colgate, Washington, and University of California, San Diego.

Penn will be looking to have a stronger finish at its first home meet of the spring season, while the Tigers always have a strong team and are considered one of the top teams in the nation. Princeton also competed in the San Diego Crew Classic, returning to New Jersey with a second-place finish.

Before traveling all the way to California, the Tigers took on Georgetown and were able to put up an impressive win. This weekend should make for an interesting race between these three heavyweight crews at the Childs Cup.