Crew and Lacrosse National Championships Claimed in Same Week
And Yale Beats Harvard … again.
Fresh off its Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship June 2, where they knocked off the west coast powerhouse University of Washington Huskies for the second year in a row, the Yale heavyweight men’s crew bested Harvard in the 153rd edition of the Harvard-Yale Regatta June 9.
This marks the third time in four years the Bulldogs have bested the Crimson in the most famous boat race in the country. (Most Eli fans say this was the fourth victory in a row, as the Harvard boat swamped two years ago and was unable to finish.)
Yale crew coach Steve Gladstone, with 11 national championships gathered at Brown and California, put the Harvard-Yale triumph in proper perspective. “Following the national championships, this was mandatory. It had to be done. Beating Harvard, it had to be done.” It was.
Watch Yale Crew Win The National Championship Race
Starting off the championship run, the Yale varsity Lacrosse team won its first national title May 28 with an exciting 13-11 win over perennial powerhouse Duke, winner of three national titles since 2010.
Other than a dominating Eli football team in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the early 20th-century national dominance in golf, national athletic championships have been few and far between for Yale. To win two in one week, as well as defeating traditional rowing powerhouse Harvard a week later, marks a truly significant span in Yale athletics. Boola, boola!