March 27, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale's spring racing season officially kicks off on Mar. 29 when the Bulldogs face Ivy League rivals Brown at the Gilder Boathouse. This first race marks the end of winter training and the beginning of five weeks of cup races in preparation for Eastern Sprints on May 18. The Bulldogs, returning from nearly two weeks of training in Florida, are confident that the time and energy they have put in over the past months will pay off. Yale hopes to hold on to the cups that last season's undefeated varsity eight earned over the course of the dual racing season. The team also hopes to build on last year's performances at Eastern Sprints and IRAs along with its win in the Yale-Harvard Regatta.

Following Brown, the Bulldogs' varsity eight will head to San Diego, Calif., to race in the 35th San Diego Crew Classic on Apr. 5 and 6. Since Yale does not usually participate in this regatta, the result will serve as an early indicator of the team's standing against crews it does not race until Sprints or IRAs including Washington, Cal, Stanford and archrival Harvard. The Bulldogs then return home for two races. First, they face Dartmouth in defense of the Olympic Axe on Apr. 12. Then, on Apr. 19, Columbia and Penn face Yale for the Blackwell Cup.

The Bulldogs' toughest test will come in New Jersey on Apr. 26 when Princeton and Cornell challenge Yale for the Carnegie Cup, a cup the Elis won last year for the first time in recent memory. The Carnegie Cup is Yale's last dual race until the Yale-Harvard Regatta on June 14.

After the Carnegie Cup and three weeks of training and preparation, the Bulldogs will line up at Eastern Sprints on May 18. Eastern Sprints serves as a de facto Ivy League Championship and helps build momentum for the three-day IRA Regatta on June 5. At IRAs, Yale will face top teams from throughout the nation in what has become collegiate rowing's national championship. A week later, the Bulldogs end their season by facing Harvard in the 143rd installment of the Yale-Harvard Regatta. After last year's incredible finishes, including comeback wins by both the varsity and junior varsity boats, the Bulldogs hope to see more wins in America's oldest collegiate athletic competition.

Report filed by Dominique Fenton '10, Yale Sports Publicity