The Harvard men’s heavyweight rowing team secured victories in the second and third varsity eight races at the Benderson Cup, held March 28 at Nathan Benderson Lake during the Sarasota Invitational.
The event brought together top collegiate teams, including Washington, Stanford, Brown, Yale, and Northeastern. The competition is significant for these programs as it provides a mid-season benchmark against strong opponents.
Harvard’s fourth varsity eight began the day with a second-place finish behind Washington’s A boat, clocking in at 6:20.68. The team’s first win came when the third varsity eight finished nearly four seconds ahead of their closest competitor with a time of 5:57.94. The crew was coxed by Cate Frerichs and stroked by Marco Vicino.
In another close contest, Harvard’s second varsity eight won by just 0.39 seconds over Washington with a time of 5:45.01. This boat was coxed by Iris Hennin and stroked by Tyler Horler. Although their time was slightly slower than Friday’s performance, they managed to overtake Washington after finishing behind them previously.
The final race saw Harvard’s varsity eight place second to Washington with a time of 5:46.59—1.57 seconds off the lead pace set by their rivals.
Looking ahead, Harvard will return home next weekend to compete against Cornell for the Robinson Cup on Saturday, April 4.
