ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's lightweight rowing program returns to the water this weekend when it begins postseason action at the annual Eastern Sprints regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.

Cornell will deploy five crews onto the waters of Lake Quinsigamond, having four varsity eights and a varsity four competing. The first two of three C150 crews racing in heats will compete out of Lane 2, with the 3VL8 crew opening the morning slate at 9 a.m. in the second heat, racing against Princeton, Yale, and Georgetown. The VL8 crew will race at 10 a.m. against Penn, Yale, MIT, and Columbia, and the 2VL8 will row out of Lane 4 in the second heat at 10:50 a.m., going up against Penn, Yale, Dartmouth, and MIT.

Beginning the afternoon session at 1 p.m. will be the VL4 Grand Final, where the Big Red will launch from Lane 2 and square off against Georgetown, MIT, Dartmouth, and Harvard. The only other pre-determined lightweight grand final will be the 4VL8, scheduled to begin at 1:39 p.m., which will feature Navy's 4VL8 and 5VL8 crews, as well as Penn and Princeton.

LAST TIME AT EASTERN SPRINTS
Cornell's L3V8+ crew completed its undefeated season with a first-place finish at the 2024 Eastern Sprints Championship last year on Lake Quinsigamond.

Racing against six other programs, the Big Red crew finished the course with a time of 5:52.595, finishing 4.516 seconds ahead of second-place finishing Penn (5:57.111). Rounding out the list of competitors was Yale (5:57.837), Harvard (5:58.281), Navy (6:01.107), Columbia (6:04.441), and Princeton (6:16.273).

Despite no times being reported, the L4V8+ also took gold in a "hectic race," according to the team's Instagram account.

The 2V8+ finished fourth in its Grand Final with a time of 5:51.722, falling short of its Ivy League counterparts in Penn (5:48.460), Harvard (5:50.594), and Princeton (5:50.994). Cornell's L1V8+ placed fifth in its grand final after clocking a time of 5:45.955. A quartet of Ancient Eight rivals finished ahead of the Big Red, featuring Harvard (5:35.743), Penn (5:38.471), Princeton (5:40.835), and Dartmouth (5:43.627).

EASTERN SPRINTS HISTORY
Cornell will be seeking for its first Jope Cup since winning consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015. The Big Red's six Jope Cup victories (1963, 1964, 1992, 2008, 2014, 2015) stand as the fourth-most in the regatta's history, since its first running in 1963. Only Harvard (22), Princeton (16), and Yale (10) have won more titles.

The Big Red will also be seeking for its 12th Ivy League title and its first since 2017 as it hopes to dethrone Harvard, who has claimed the each of the last two Ivy League titles.

Harvard will also be looking to retain the Joseph Wright Trophy, awarded to the top-finishing crew in the L1V8+ race, after winning last year's title over Penn to claim its first Wright Trophy since 2013. Cornell has the third-most Wright Trophy victories in Eastern Sprints history with 11 1/3 victories, after it shared the 1962 title with Navy and MIT, and will look to increase its title count this weekend and win its first Wright Trophy since 2017. Only Harvard (28) and Princeton (16) have won more titles than the Big Red.

The other trophy up for grabs this weekend will be the Cornell Trophy, which is awarded to the winning crew of the L2V8+ race. Penn has won each of the last two runnings after Navy had a two-year run in 2021 and 2022. No crew has won three consecutive Cornell Trophy titles since Princeton between 1998 and 2000. Only Harvard's incredible 14-year reign between 1967 and 1980 is the only other instance where a program has won the trophy in three successive seasons. Cornell has not won the Cornell Trophy since 2019 and has staked claim of its namesake trophy on six other occasions (1963, 1964, 1966, 1993, 2006, and 2013).

LAST TIME OUT
Two weekends ago, Cornell took two out of three races against No. 7-ranked MIT and No. 10-ranked Columbia on Overpeck Creek inside Overpeck County Park.

Cornell's 3V8+ opened the day with a 10.6-second victory over Columbia's 3V8+ with a time of 5:53.4. The Big Red's 4V8+ also competed, finishing in third in 6:06.5.

"Our 3V executed a textbook race," Nase stated. "They took the lead early and kept their foot on the gas from start to finish. The 4V also showed strong effort and poise as they held their own in the field."

Posting a 7.5-second victory over MIT in the Geiger Cup race, Cornell clocked the fastest time of any crew on the day (5:34.3). MIT was second with its 5:41.7 time and Columbia placed third (5:45.0).

"The varsity crew put together a dominant performance, surging out to a powerful lead and never looking back," Nase said. "Their time is the fastest we've seen from a Cornell lightweight varsity boat on a non-current body of water. This is a testament to the speed this group is finding in the final stretch of the season. This group is really finding their stride and I am excited to see how much more they can keep improving."

Cornell won consecutive Geiger Cup races for the first time since 2019 and 2022, and is the first instance it won in successive years since 2014 and 2015. The Big Red's success on Columbia's waters were further solidified as the Big Red has now won the Geiger Cup in each of the last seven runnings (2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2022, 2024, and 2025).

Columbia posted its lone victory of the day in the 2V8+ crew, edging Cornell by 3.6 seconds after clocking a 5:46.5 piece. MIT finished in third with a 6:15.1 time.

"The JV had a strong start, getting off the line clean and locking into a rhythm," Nase said. "They battled hard through the middle thousand, but were overtaken just past the 1000-meter mark and fought with grit to the line."

BOATINGS
Yet to be released

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - HEATS
Subject to change
9 a.m. — 3VL8 Heat 2: Princeton (Lane 1), Cornell (Lane 2), Yale (Lane 3), Georgetown (Lane 4)

10 a.m. — VL8 Heat 2: Penn (Lane 1), Cornell (Lane 2), Yale (Lane 3), MIT (Lane 4), Columbia (Lane 5)

10:50 a.m. — 2VL8 Heat 2: Penn (Lane 1), Yale (Lane 2), Dartmouth (Lane 3), Cornell (Lane 4), MIT (Lane 5)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - FINALS
Subject to change
1 p.m. — VL4 Grand Final: Georgetown (Lane 1), Cornell (Lane 2), MIT (Lane 3), Dartmouth (Lane 4), Harvard (Lane 5)

1:39 p.m. — 4VL8 Grand Final: Navy 4VL8 (Lane 1), Cornell (Lane 2), Penn (Lane 3), Princeton (Lane 4), Navy 5VL8 (Lane 5)

2:16 p.m. — 3VL8 Petite Final

2:26 p.m. — 3VL8 Grand Final

3:18 p.m. — 2VL8 Petite Final

3:28 p.m. — 2VL8 Grand Final

4:12 p.m. — VL8 Petite Final

4:22 p.m. — VL8 Grand Final