PHILADELPHIA – In cold and rainy conditions this afternoon on the Schuylkill River, the Cornell men's heavyweight rowing team proved to be red hot, sweeping all five races against host Penn to earn its sixth consecutive Madeira Cup and James Wray Memorial Trophy.
The meeting was the Big Red's final tune-up before IRAs and was its second sweep of an Ivy League opponent, having won all of its races against Dartmouth last weekend.
Cornell will look to carry that momentum into next weekend, when it participates in IRAs, held May 31-June 2.
Player Perspective
On a breezy and cold Friday morning on the historic Schuylkill River in Philadelphia the Big Red's men's heavyweight rowing team took on the Penn Quakers. The trip started with the Red leaving from Ithaca early in the morning, making this race unlike any other on the team's regular season schedule, as it condensed all race prep to just one day. As the rain began to come down, the Red rigged and prepared to get a practice run in out on the course in their boats. With this race being the last before both crews head off the annual IRA National Championship in Sacramento, Calif., both teams were eager to end their seasons on the right foot.
Racing began with the freshman eight event. Off the start, Penn walked out on the Red attempting to hop off the line early and frazzle the Big Red Frosh. The Red found itself pushing away from the Quakers coming into the turn at the Strawberry Mansion Bridge, where Penn, on the inside of the turn, pushed back into the Red's lead. With tight margins at the 1000-meter mark, the Red tried to regain their control on the race. The swirling winds in the last 500 meters of the course kept the two boats pretty tight until the Red were able to push away in the last 300 meters.
The next race on the docket was the second varsity eight, with both crews trying to build on some promising speed coming off of last week's Eastern Sprints Regatta. Both crews came hard off the line with the Red pushing very hard to have a boat length lead at the 1,000. With time running out and the Red in front the Quakers began to push back into Cornell's lead, but ultimately ran out of time as Cornell was able to hold on.
The marquee event of the day was the varsity eight, with two historically close rivals pitting their best athletes against each other. Penn blasted off the line taking a lead through the first 500. With a nice tailwind and a final end to the rain, the Red's top eight found the determination to push into, and ultimately surpass, Penn's lead from the first quarter of the race. The Red walked through Penn into the third 500, after which the crews were evenly matched with margin holding past that point in the race.
Racing ended with the A and B four events, in which Cornell boats raced a multitude of Penn 4's, one of which had the speed to win their event at the Eastern Sprints Regatta last weekend. The Cornell A4 came off the line strong, in an attempt to get out in front of the Eastern Sprints champions. The strategy proved quite fruitful as the boat was able to keep their lead from the start to the beginning of the last 500 meters, where a big sprint from the Big Red pushed them out in front of Penn.
The B4 race was probably the most tightly contested race of the day, with the Big Red facing three Penn boats. The race was dead even to the 1,000-meter mark, where the Big Red, with a little audible support from their cheering teammates and some dedicated parents, were able to use their conditioning from the year behind them to push out ahead of the Quaker boats.
The regatta culminated with an inspiring presentation of the Madeira and Wray cups, from descendants of Mr. Wray himself. Both teams seem to have taken big steps though the course of the season and are looking poised for great finishes through all events at the IRA National Championship Regatta next weekend in Sacramento, Calif.
Madeira Cup and James Wray Memorial Trophy
Cornell vs. Penn
Friday, May 24, 2013
Schuylkill River - Philadelphia, Pa.
First Freshmen Eight
Cornell - 5:49.3
Penn - 5:55.5
Second Varsity Eight
Cornell - 5:41.3
Penn - 5:44.9
Varsity Eight
Cornell - 5:30.6
Penn - 5:33.0
Varsity Four+
Cornell - 6:27.3
Penn - 6:36.5
Open Four+
Cornell - 6:26.0
Penn - 6:26.9
Penn - 6:50.6
Penn - 6:51.8
