ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 1 Cornell men's lightweight rowing program will begin its defense of its national championship title when it welcomes No. 7 Penn and No. 4 Harvard to the Cayuga Lake on Saturday for the Matthews & Leonard Cups. The Big Red were a perfect 6-0 last season en route to its third IRA title since 2014.
 
THE MATTHEWS TROPHY: The Matthews Trophy, placed in competition in 1938, is awarded to the winner of the varsity eight race in the dual regatta between Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1988, Harvard has been a regular participant in the race, but is not eligible to win the Matthews Cup. Cornell has won the Matthews Cup 44 times, including the last 23 meetings, with Penn triumphing 27 times.

THE LEONARD POINTS CUP: The Leonard Points Cup is given to the winner of the majority of the 8 races. At this time, complete Leonard Cup results are unavailable, but Cornell has taken home the Cup in each of the past six seasons.
 
LAST TIME AT THE MATTHEWS & LEONARD CUPS: For the 23rd consecutive season, the Big Red's varsity eight defeated Penn to take home the Matthews Cup, while the team picked up enough victories to earn the Leonard Point Cup for the sixth season in a row. In the first race of the morning, Harvard took the top two spots in the fourth varsity eight ahead of Cornell and Penn. The Crimson, which rows as a guest, also crossed the line first in the second and third varsity races, with the Quakers and the Big Red finishing second in the races, respectively. The race for the Matthews Cup was the final one of the day and Cornell's victory, in a time of 6:16.9, also secured the Leonard Point Cup for the Big Red.
 
NEXT UP: The Big Red will travel to Princeton on Saturday, April 14 to race for the Platt Cup.
 
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m. – Fourth Varsity 8 
9:20 p.m. – Third Varsity 8 
9:40 a.m. – Second Varsity 8    
10:00 a.m. –Varsity 8     
10:20 a.m. – Varsity 4+
 
TENTATIVE BOATINGS
Varsity 8+
Coxswain: Monica Ordonez
Stroke: Joe Pinnola-Vizza  
7: James McManus
6: Sorin Koszyk
5: Nick Anderson
4: Luke Sendelbach
3: Henry Ellis
2: Gideon Schmidt
Bow: David Tigerman  
 
Second Varsity 8+
Coxswain: Molly Rochford
Stroke: Luke Small
7: Cam Bertossa
6: Charles Mencke
5: Andrew Hickey
4: Eric Lee
3: Alex Kost
2: Manny Sanchez
Bow: Jack Piegza
 
Third Varsity 8+
Coxswain: Rory Henderson
Stroke: Ed Bao  
7: Michael Battaglia
6: Evan Krum
5: Colin Giannini
4: Graham Richartz
3: Joe While
2: Andrew Thomas
Bow: Jules Kramer
 
Fourth Varsity 8+
Coxswain: Lindsay Gibbons  
Stroke: Luke Sofair
7: Jack Evitts
6: Alex Zincani
5: Bill Miksic
4: Kade Hawkins
3: Ryan Peters
2: Harrison Unruh
Bow: Matt Ptucha  
 
Varsity 4+
Coxswain: TBD
Stroke: Carter Hoekstra  
2: Tristan Wiese
3: Matthew Prince
Bow: Anthony Sourial