WORCESTER, Mass. – The thin line between triumph and heartbreak sat squarely on the row of orange finish buoys this Sunday at the Eastern Sprints Championship Regatta. Whether that boundary acts as the arbiter of fate or merely records events long decided is up for debate—what was cemented in fact this weekend on the not-quite-glass water of Lake Quinsigamond was the Yale Lightweight Crew's last full-force showing of the season, in which the 1V and 3V eights competed in their respective Petite Finals, while the JV came home with bronze medals in a barn burner of a Grand Final. 
 
Second Varsity

With their strong second-place finish in the morning heat, the Yale JV punched their ticket to a Grand Final boasting a stacked field that included Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Cornell and Columbia. The Crimson were the first to take the lead, pulling away from the pack after the starting few strokes. The Penn Quakers were soon to follow, establishing a firm second-place position. What ensued thereafter was a heated four-boat battle between Yale, Princeton, Cornell and Columbia for a bronze medal. Upon crossing the 500m marker, the Bulldogs made the first move, grabbing a two-seat lead on the other three crews. 
 
"We were confident in our base rhythm and trusted each other to follow the game plan through the first part of the race," said senior and JV bow seat John Cahill.
 
The Eli JV held that slight lead through the 750m mark, staving off the nearby Tigers, who were looking to make a mid-race move. Cornell and Columbia stayed close behind as well. While the Bulldogs held contact with Penn, the Quakers remained elusive. The next 750m saw these positions stay largely unchanged; it was at the 1500m mark where the Yale JV seemed to find another gear, eating up two seats of Penn's lead and beginning to walk away from Princeton.
 
"I felt at this point in the race that all of us really homed in on our rhythm and found our connection. We were aware of the crews on either side of us but we kept our focus inside the boat," said five seat Ry Natterson.
 
With 500m to go, all the hardware was still on the table. Harvard stayed ahead of the field, while Penn upped its rate in close pursuit. Meanwhile, Princeton had cut down Yale's lead to only three seats: the question of who would claim a coveted podium finish was still yet to be answered. Closing in on the final 250m mark, the Yale and Princeton crews were firing on all cylinders, trading stroke for stroke in a gritty Ivy league brawl for third. 
 
"I knew that as long as I kept pushing through the sprint, the other seven guys would be right behind me," said senior and JV stroke seat Ryan Vaughn.
 
In the closing 100m, Yale surged ahead, crossing the finish line just before Princeton to take bronze. Harvard claimed gold and Penn took silver. 
 
"I'm proud of all of the hard work that went into the result today. We made a lot of progress throughout the season and our race reflected those improvements," said senior and JV coxswain Jackie Weyerhaeuser.

Third Varsity
 
Earlier in the day, the Yale 3V had races of their own. In the morning heat, the Bulldogs placed fourth, setting them up for a two-boat contest with Columbia in the afternoon Petite Final. In that showdown, both crews were quick off the start. Columbia took an early lead, with Yale maintaining contact through the first 1000m. The gap between the two crews slowly widened, and Columbia ultimately crossed the finish line first.

First Varsity
 
The Yale varsity eight's morning heat was a thriller: only the top three crews out of the field of five were set to move on to the afternoon Grand Final. After the first quarter of the race, Yale emerged in fourth place, trailing closely behind MIT, with Cornell in the lead and Penn in second. These positions held through the 1750m meter mark, where the Bulldogs made an aggressive move to pull within a seat of MIT. In the final few strokes, however, the Engineers held their lead, finishing less than half a second ahead of Yale. 
 
The Yale varsity then competed in the Petite Final, where they placed third behind Georgetown and Navy. 

 
The official EARC Sprints results can be found here.
 
Here are the lineups for the three Yale eights:
 
1V
Cox      Magdalena Moore / Winthrop, Wash.
Stroke  Timmy Parsons / Eugene, Ore.
7           Andrew Kasparyan / Southborough, Mass.
6           Dylan Oberst / Greenwich, Conn.
5           Max Blacksten / McLean, Va.
4           Cassin Edgar-Smith / Barrington, R.I
3           Fielding Staelin / Nashville, Tenn.
2           Finlay Murray / London, England
Bow      Ago Ghiso / Chicago, Ill.
 
2V
Cox       Jackie Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Min.
Stroke   Ryan Vaughn / Moraga, Calif.
7           Andrew Griesinger / Princeton, N.J.
6           Will Konopka / Philadelphia, Penn
5           Ry Natterson / Los Angeles, Calif.
4           Raph Clark / South Hamilton, Mass.
3           Nolan Kaputa / Princeton, N.J
2           Asher Patent / Chicago, Ill.
Bow     John Cahill / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
3V
Cox       Pearl Mallick / Dartmouth, Mass.
Stroke   Alexander Judelson / New York, N.Y.
7           Eddie Cavallin / Washington, D.C.
6           Paden Nichols / Des Moines, Wash.
5           Brandon Fernandez / Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.
4           Aidan Marks / Greenwich, Conn.
3           Cormac Kimberly / Jacksonville, Fla.
2           Duncan Kilbride / Wellesley, Mass.
Bow      Matthew Califano / Craftsbury Common, Vt.