Varsity eight wins Class of 1975 Cup regatta
By Alix Glynn
The No. 4 Virginia rowing team traveled to Princeton, New Jersey this Saturday for the Class of 1975 Cup regatta against No. 8 Princeton, No. 13 Harvard-Radcliffe and Cornell. The Cavaliers won the Varsity Eight race with a time of 6:54.5, but the 1975 Cup was awarded to Princeton (6:56.8) since only Ivy League schools were eligible. Harvard-Radcliffe finished third (6:57.5), followed by Cornell (7:06.4). The Varsity Eight category was the tightest race of the day, with just 12 seconds separating all four crews.
The Varsity Eight boat consisted of the same rowers as the ACC Big 10 Challenge last week, but in a different lineup. Senior Hayley LaFleche coxed, with freshman Shawna Sims at stroke, sophomores Erin Briggs and Georgia Ratcliff at seats 7 and 6, freshman Eliza Spillsbury at 5 seat, seniors Hemingway Benton and Lizzy Youngling at seats 4 and 3, juniors Sam Casto and Mackenzi Sherman at 2 seat and bow.
The Second Varsity Eight took first place (7:13.5), ahead of Princeton (7:20.0) and Harvard-Radcliffe in third (7:28.4). The Cavaliers also won the Varsity Four (7:29.5), Second Varsity Four (7:59.3), and Third Varsity Four (8:23.6) races, only falling to Princeton (7:20.0) by six seconds in the Third Varsity Eight Race with a time of 7:26.6.
Virginia has a week of practice before heading to Clemson, South Carolina for the Clemson Invitational next weekend. There will be 21 other teams at the regatta, including No. 1 Ohio State.