Light Blue Heavyweights, Women’s Rowing Give Up Victories in Close Races As Eastern Sprints Near

The Columbia rowing teams that were in action this past weekend were unable to come away with wins against their opponents. Both the men’s sub-varsity heavyweight team and the women’s team fell short of victories. The crews had wished to end their dual meet seasons on a high note. However, they now hope that these losses will not impact their showing at the sprints coming up in several weeks.

The women faced off against the Northeastern Huskies this past weekend. This regatta marked the only home event for the Lions this season. The varsity eight rowers looked as if they would come away with a victory, as they had a lead after the first 500 meters. However, the Light Blue could not hold on to that head start. The Huskies came on strong in the second 500 meters and took the lead. From that point on, the Lions could not catch up and ending up finishing 10 seconds behind the Huskies. The closest race of the day came from the varsity four boat. The squad looked as if it was in control for the entire race. The Light Blue had been leading almost the entire 2,000 meters of the race but then lost in the final moments when the Huskies pulled ahead with about 100 meters left. The Lions finished four seconds behind Northeastern. Unfortunately for the Light Blue ladies, they were unable to win, but Eastern Sprints await them.

The sub-varsity men did not have much more luck than the women’s team did. Earlier this season, the men’s varsity team came away with an impressive win over Navy. The Lions did not have a repeat performance, however. The sub-varsity team dropped all three races to Navy. The team did, however, fight hard in close races, especially in the second varsity and freshmen eight contests. In the second varsity race, the Midshipmen appeared as if they would come away with an easy victory. The Lions stayed within a length the entire race, but within the final 500 meters, Navy pulled ahead to beat Columbia by three seconds. The freshmen eight race started in a similar fashion, with Navy looking to eliminate the Lions early on. In the final 500 meters, the Light Blue pulled within inches of the Midshipmen but lost its grasp and fell behind by only half a second.

While both teams suffered difficult loses, the Lions will look to compete well at Eastern Sprints and pick up victories at this important meet on May 18 in Worcester, Mass.