Cornell University Athletics

1920
Cornell establishes its first lightweight rowing squad of eight rowers, each weighing less than 150 pounds. The team is coached by legendary rower, “The Grand Old Man,” Charles E. Courtney. Courtney tragically dies on July 17, and John Hoyle takes over. The program is soon disbanded.

1934
Lightweight rowing returns as a varsity sport with Coach Clark Wray taking over the 150-pound crew squad. Using the varsity boat house, the lightweight rowers have three boats actively participating. There are some minor rough patches in the first season, but it ends better than expected at the team’s two scheduled races. In the crew’s first race, the Big Red has to borrow a shell in Worcester, Mass. Despite the difficulties, Cornell still manages to finish only one-length behind Yale and neck-and-neck with MIT. The Big Red later finishes fifth overall at the American Henley Regatta, a race that is the equivalent of the lightweight rowing national championship. Paul Wood ’36 leads the team as the stroke and John Ward ’34 is the reformed team’s first coxswain.

1936
Cornell wins two-thirds of its races, including a huge 36-second victory over Navy on May 2.

1938
At the Manhattan Regatta in Ithaca, the Big Red sets an inlet record for the best time at a Henley distance, finishing the race in 6:54. Cornell finishes the season with a dramatic win over Penn on May 2 in one of the best races in program history, as the Big Red defeats the Quakers by two and a half lengths to earn the first-ever Matthews Cup.

1949
Coach Al Bock coaches the Big Red lightweights for only one season, but he makes the most of it, winning the program’s first EARC title. The season starts ominously, with the Big Red needing to borrow boats at its first race of the year, a three-second loss to Penn on the Schuylkill River. The following weekend, Cornell pulls off a big upset at the American Henley Regatta, defeating heavily favored Princeton, Harvard, and Penn to win the Wright Trophy. The season has an unfortunate ending, however, as the Big Red is refused entry to the Royal Henley Regatta in England because Cornell’s entry form arrives one day late and the team is prevented from competing.

1951
On April 5, Miss Pepper Dutcher ’51 christens the lightweight squad’s new boat as the “Spirit of the Fifties” during a short ceremony. Unfortunately for the Big Red, the new boat does not equate to success as Cornell finishes dead last at the American Henley Regatta.

1956
The Geiger Cup is placed in competition in memory of Andy Geiger, the first athletic director at MIT, and is awarded to the winner of the varsity race with Cornell, Columbia and MIT. The Big Red wins the first four Geiger Cups.

1961
Coach Harold Kaiser leads the lightweight squad to four straight victories and a second place finish at the American Henley Regatta. At the end of the season, Cornell is treated to an invitation to the “World Series of Crew” at the Henley Royal Regatta. Directed by coxswain Terry Gardner ’62 and stroked by Charles Dann ’61, the boat wins its first race by defeating the Tideway Scullers School of London.

1962
Cornell starts a string of five national titles in six years. The Big Red opens the 1962 season by capturing the Mathews Cup, but the most exciting race is at the EARC Sprints. Cornell and Navy both led three-quarters into the race with MIT only one-length behind. In the final stretch, the MIT boat comes from behind to produce the first, and only, three-way tie in the EARC Sprints history.

1963
Cornell again emerges as EARC champions by defeating MIT, the only team to defeat the Big Red during the regular season. Cornell also has the best performance overall as a team to earn the Jope Cup. The victory at the EARC earns the squad another trip to England to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta. The scullers win their first race by defeating Queens University of Belfast by six lengths. Cornell follows the win with a Fourth of July victory over the highly touted Nassovia Hoechst crew from Germany. The victory earns Cornell a chance to compete in the Grand Challenge Cup where the Big Red falls to Queens College of Cambridge by one-length.

1964
The Baggaley Cup is placed in competition in honor of Bruce Baggaley, a Dartmouth lightweight crew coach and oarsman by his 1964 lightweight crew, and is awarded to the winner of the varsity race between Cornell and Dartmouth. The Big Red wins the first six Baggaley Cups … The Big Red makes it a three-peat, winning the EARC Sprints title for the third straight season. Both the team’s varsity and junior varsity boats are victorious, with the JV boat holding off MIT by 0.4 seconds.

1965
Cornell wins its fourth straight EARC title with a full length victory over an unbeaten Harvard squad. Cornell also makes it to the semifinals of the Henley Royal Regatta, defeating the Thames Rowing Club, Northeastern University, and Derby Rowing Club of England, before falling to Nottingham Brittania Club.

1966
Despite finishing the season with a 5-0 record, the Big Red finishes second to Harvard at the EARC sprints.

1967
It can be argued that the 1967 season is the greatest in Cornell lightweight crew history. Coach Todd Jesdale keeps his team focused despite poor weather conditions to win the Platt Cup, the Geiger Cup, and the EARC Sprint championship. The season is highlighted with the program’s first ever victory in the Thames Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. Cornell defeats Kingston Rowing Club, Durham University, Crowland Rowing Club and Molesey Boat Club in the opening rounds. In the finals, the Big Red is victorious over Nottingham Union Rowing Club.

1969
On April 12, Cornell loses its first dual race since May 11, 1963. The loss to Penn ends a streak of 29 straight victories for the Big Red. This is also the final season of running the lightweights for Todd Jesdale, who goes on to coach the heavyweight squad.

1977
For the first time since Todd Jesdale left the program, Cornell finishes with a winning record in John Dunn’s first season.

1980
John Dunn posts his finest finish as a Big Red lightweight coach, winning five of the six dual races and a taking a second place finish at the EARC Sprints. The success earns him the position as the head coach of the varsity women’s crew.

1981
With the rising popularity of lightweight crew, the EARC Sprints are reformatted to two initial heats that places all the teams competing into two finals, the Grand Final and the Petite Final. In the first ever Petite Final, the Big Red pulls ahead of Dartmouth to win by 2.6 seconds with a final time of 614.8.

1985
In only his second year as head coach, John Ferriss leads the Big Red to a 6-1 dual race record that includes capturing the Baggaley Cup and the Geiger Cup. It is also the first time the Big Red earns a spot in the Grand Final at the EARC Sprints, where it takes fifth place.

1992
Cornell wins the IRA lightweight championship for the first time since 1967 and the Jope Cup for the first time since 1964. The Big Red caps off a perfect 8-0 season with a chance to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta. After receiving a bye in the first round, Cornell defeats Thames Rowing Club. The lightweights then earn a 10-foot victory over the Roy Rowing Club. That win earns the Big Red a trip to the quarterfinals, where the team meets its match against the Upper Thames Rowing Club, falling by two seconds.

1996
After finishing the year with a 4-3 record, Cornell finishes in second place in the Petite Finals at the IRA Championships.

2002
After three disappointing seasons, Todd Kennett begins to turn around the Big Red program by leading Cornell to its first winning regular season since 1996. The Big Red finishes third at the EARC sprints and fifth overall at IRA nationals.

2004
The Big Red rows to nine wins during the regular season, the most in team history.

2005
Cornell builds upon the success of the 2004 season by finishing second overall, just 1.5 seconds behind Yale, at IRA nationals and earns a trip back to England to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta. Cornell defeats University College of Dublin and Abingdon School of England before losing to Oxford Brookes in the quarterfinals.

2006
The Big Red upsets the pre-race forms and claims the program's eighth EARC Sprints title with a three second win over Navy (553.2-556.3). Cornell then defeats Harvard by .08 seconds to earn the team team’s second IRA title under Coach Kennett. The Big Red makes it all the way to the finals of the Henley Regatta by defeating Pembroke, Christ Church of Oxford, Imperial College of London, and University of California. Cornell finishes second overall, losing to Oxford Brookes for the second straight season.

2007
The results of the 2007 season are eerily similar to the 2006 campaign. Cornell holds off a late charge from the Crimson in the IRA Championships to win its second straight national title and for the second straight year, Cornell finishes second at the Henley Royal Regatta.

2008
The Big Red wins its second Ivy League championship in a three year span, as well as the Jope Cup for the first time since 1992. The crew goes on to win the IRA Championships for the third straight year, after which, Cornell advances to the semifinals of the Henley Royal Regatta. Following the season, Coach Kennett is named the Spirit of '57 Director of Rowing/Head Coach of Heavyweight Rowing at Cornell.

2009
Chris Kerber becomes the 26th head coach in Cornell lightweight rowing history.

2010
The Big Red saw three boats medal at the Eastern Sprints with the first freshmen 8 and the third varsity 8 taking gold, while the second varsity 8 took the silver.

2011
The Big Red ended the 2011 season ranked fifth in the USRowing Collegiate Poll after posting a 4-3 record on the year. Cornell had an outstanding showing at the 2011 EARC Sprints, placing all five of its boats into their respective Grand Finals. The Big Red took three bronze medals, finishing in third place in the second varsity eight, freshmen eight and second freshman eight races, while the third varsity eight placed fourth and the varsity eight placed fifth overall. At the IRA Championships, the varsity four boat took the bronze medal, while the varsity eight finished in fourth place overall.

2012
Cornell had an outstanding Cup season in 2012, earning the Matthews Cup and the Leonard Cup against Penn, edging Princeton in the varsity eight race by .3 seconds to win the Platt Cup for the first time since 2007, and defeating Columbia and MIT for its fifth consecutive Geiger Cup. The Big Red then placed all four of its boats into their respective Grand Finals at the EARC Sprints, taking the gold medal in the third varsity eight and the silver in the second varsity eight. In addition to the outstanding medal performances, the freshmen eight took fourth, while the varsity eight took sixth overall. At the IRA championships, the varsity four took the silver medal, while the varsity eight finished fifth in the nation.

2013
The crew opened its season by extending its winning streak over Penn and taking home the Matthews Cup for the 19th-consecutive year. The Big Red then swept Princeton to earn back-to-back Platt Cups for the first time since winning four straight from 2004-07. Cornell then closed out the Cup season by sweeping Dartmouth on the Cayuga Lake Inlet to win its first Baggaley Cup since 2010.  The Big Red opened the championship season with an outstanding showing at the 2013 EARC Sprints, picking up four medals overall. The highlight of the day came as the Big Red took home the Cornell Trophy for the first time since 2006, and just the sixth time since 1959, as the winners of the second varsity eight race. Additionally, the Big Red took gold in the third varsity four, while earning silver medals in the third varsity eight and the freshmen eight. The varsity eight made its third consecutive appearance in the Grand Final and finished in sixth for the second straight season. At the IRA Regatta, the varsity four earned the bronze medal, while the varsity eight finished in fifth place for the second straight season, edging Princeton by .3 seconds.

2014
Head coach Chris Kerber was named the 2014 IRA Coach of the Year and the Big Red’s varsity eight was named the IRA Crew of the Year after posting an undefeated regular season and winning both the Eastern Sprints and the IRA national championship. The varsity eight earned a No. 1 national ranking on April 17 and held the top spot for the remainder of the season. The varsity eight took home the Ivy Cup as the Ivy League champions and won the Joseph Wright Trophy at the 2014 EARC Sprints. Additionally, with bronze medals at the second varsity eight and the freshmen eight, Cornell won the Jope Cup as the team that scored the highest total points at Eastern Sprints. It marked the first time since 2008 that the Big Red won the three trophies. The varsity eight went on to claim the program's fifth national championship, edging Harvard by .54 of a second to cap the 11th undefeated season in Cornell lightweight history. The Big Red, which has been undefeated IRA champions just once before (1992), last won an IRA title in 2008. Following the season, the Big Red was selected to row at the 175th Henley Royal Regatta. Cornell easily won its first three races at Henley before falling to Oxford Brookes University by a half-length in the Temple Challenge Cup semifinal race.

2015
For the second year in a row, head coach Chris Kerber earned IRA Coach of the Year honors after leading Cornell to its second consecutive undefeated season while capturing the program's sixth National Championship. Kerber also took home the inaugural Ivy League Coach of the Year award, as well as repeating as the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) Lightweight Coach of the Year, after the Big Red won the Jope Cup, the Ivy League Championship and the Joseph Wright Trophy by taking first overall among all varsity eight boats at the 2015 EARC Sprints. The Big Red’s impressive showing at Sprints marked the first time in over 50 years that the Cornell lightweight rowing team has won back-to-back Jope Cups and consecutive Ivy League Championships. The Big Red varsity eight was also named both the EARC and IRA Lightweight Crew of the Year. Following the season, Cornell parcipated in the Henley Royal Regatta, advancing to the semifinal race of the Temple Challenge Cup, where it fell to an extremely talented A.S.R. Nereus crew that set a new course record in the previous day's quarterfinals.

2016
The lightweight varsity eight ran its winning streak to 17 consecutive head-to-head victories before falling to No. 4 Princeton early in the season. The crew finished the year with a record of 4-3 before placing fourth overall at the 2016 Eastern Sprints and fifth overall at the IRA National Championship. Altogether, the Big Red sent all five crews into the Grand Finals of the Eastern Sprints and picked up four medals with the fifth varsity eight winning gold, while the second and third varsity eight took silver and the fourth varsity eight earned bronze. At the IRAs, the varsity four without coxswain won the gold medal.

2017
The Big Red was named the IRA Lightweight Crew of the Year, while head coach Chris Kerber was named the IRA Coach of the Year after capping an undefeated season by winning the Men's Lightweight National Championship in impressive fashion, defeating runner-up Penn by nearly a second. Cornell's varsity eight was also named the EARC Lightweight Crew of the Year, with all nine members earning first-team All-Ivy honors, after posting a winning time of 5:40.808 at the EARC Sprints. The Big Red defeated second-place Harvard (5:41.656) by just under one second to take home th Ivy League championship as well. In addition to the IRA Coach of the Year honors, Kerber was also named the Ivy League Lightweight Coach of the Year, as well as the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Lightweight Coach of the Year. Following the season, Cornell participated in the Henley Royal Regatta, advancing to the quarterfinal race of the Temple Challenge Cup, where it fell to the eventual runner-up University of London crew.