EARC Results 

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Yale heavyweight crew continued their dominance at the EARC Sprints, claiming an unprecedented fourth-straight win in the Men’s Varsity Eight, while Columbia Lightweights won the Varsity lightweight Eight for the second time in program history and first time since 2000.
 
The Varsity Eight race determines the Ivy League Championship.
 
Yale and Columbia have earned an auto-bid to the IRA National Championships set to take place from May 31-June 3. The League will wait to see if teams are awarded an at-large berth when the IRA holds its selection show Tuesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m.
 
HEAVYWEIGHT
Yale claimed its fourth consecutive EARC Sprint Title, marking the first time in 41 years a heavyweight crew has accomplished such a feat. The last team to win four straight titles was Harvard from 1974-1977. The Bulldogs also earned the Rowe Cup, based off of points derived from the 1V, 2V and 3V races. Yale earned 39 points with Princeton (35) and Harvard (32) in second and third, respectively.  Yale enters the next two races, the IRA National Championships and the Yale-Harvard Regatta, as the fastest overall program from the East.
 
The Varsity 8, as both defending National and Sprints champions, won gold during today's racing with a dominant performance. When the flag dropped, the Elis exploded off the start and quickly established their lead. By the 1000, Yale was bow to stern over Princeton and Brown. During the last 1000, Yale cleared open and sprinted to the finish, half a length open over Harvard.

LIGHTWEIGHT
The Columbia lightweight varsity and second varsity eights continued their outstanding seasons with gold medals at the EARC Sprints. The first-place finishes were the first for the program since the varsity eight was victorious in 2000. With the varsity eight triumph, the Lions also earned Ivy League Championship status.

The varsity eight were strong right from the start of the day, building a big lead in the preliminary heat to coast into the grand final as the top seed. In the afternoon, Columbia joined Princeton and Harvard as the frontrunners coming out of the gates. Just like the preliminaries, the Lions continued to build on its lead and claimed a three-second margin over the Tigers. The podium finish was the third in the past four years for Columbia.