PRINCETON, N.J. - Columbia lightweight rowing wrapped up its first weekend of competition at the National Collegiate Lightweight Invitational, hosted by Princeton on Lake Carnegie. The varsity eight fell to Princeton on Saturday to give the Tigers the Campbell Cup. On Sunday, Columbia finished behind Navy, as the Midshipmen retained the WIT Cup.

Columbia's second varsity eight picked up the lone win of the event, coming through with a dominant victory over Cornell and Navy on Sunday morning.

"First off, congratulations to Princeton and Navy on winning the Campbell and WIT Cups," said head coach Nich Lee Parker. "For our team, it was a weekend full of good lessons. We were especially glad to get some of our walk-ons a shot in the third varsity. Getting those first races under their belts is a big step, and we're confident they'll keep moving forward as the season goes on."

CAMPBELL CUP RECAP

Princeton jumped out to an early lead and extended it throughout the race to pick up an open-water victory. The Tigers finished with a time of 5:49.0, while the Lions turned in a 6:01.6 performance.

After a close start in the second varsity eight, the Tigers inched out to a bigger lead and were a full length ahead of Columbia at the halfway point. Princeton maintained its edge the rest of the way and finished in 6:06.1, while Columbia crossed the finish line in 6:17.8.

The Lions' third varsity eight took on the Tigers' third and fourth varsity crews in the first race between the schools. Princeton's 3V8 took control around the 500-meter mark and went on for the win by 18 seconds. Columbia pulled in second, with a time of 6:39.6, well in front of the Tigers' fourth varsity.

WIT CUP RECAP

Cornell was added to the day of racing as a guest in the WIT Cup in three races between Columbia and Navy, while Penn joined the third varsity eight competition.

It was an even start for all three crews in the varsity eight before Cornell slowly built a lead. The Big Red got stronger as the race and earned a convincing win. Navy held a boatlength lead 1,000 meters in over the Lions and retained the WIT Cup with a second-place finish.

Columbia's second varsity eight burst out of the gates for an early advantage over Navy and Cornell and built a boatlength lead at the 500-meter mark. Cornell narrowed the gap to about six seats at the 1,000-meter mark, but the Lions held firm and won the race with a bow-to-stern victory over the Big Red.

The third varsity went up against Cornell, Penn and Navy in the first race of the morning. The Lions fell behind early and could not make up much ground the rest of the way. Penn took first place, pulling in ahead of Cornell, followed by the Midshipmen and Columbia.

"There's still plenty of competition for seats in the first and second varsity boats," Lee Parker said. "These races were our third and fourth rows in these lineups, so we know we've got more speed to find. The goal is to apply what we learned this weekend and keep taking steps in the right direction."

Campbell Cup
Saturday, March 29

Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:49.0
Columbia 6:01.6

Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:06.1
Columbia 6:17.8

Third/Fourth Varsity Eight
Princeton 3V8 6:21.2
Columbia 3V8 6:39.6
Princeton 4V8 6:49.5

WIT Cup
Saturday, March 29

Varsity Eight
Cornell 5:51.6
Navy 5:58.4
Columbia 6:02.2

Second Varsity Eight
Columbia 6:11.4
Navy 6:11.9
Cornell 6:14.4

Third Varsity Eight
Penn 6:08.5
Cornell 6:10.5
Navy 6:13.1
Columbia 6:32.2

Lineups
 

1V8	2V8	3V8
Arin Jaff, CC '26	Amir LaGasse, SEAS '27	William Gokey, CC '28
Ravi Conway, CC '27	Oscar Bletoux, CC '28	Ethan Lee, CC'28
Aidan Walkeryee, SEAS '25	Nitin Rao, SEAS '26	James Moncur, CC '27
Sam Wilson, CC '27	Owen Anawalt, CC '28	Andrew Blelloch, SEAS '26
Finn Regan, CC '27	Alptug Kaynar, CC '26	Tony Valentino, SEAS '26
Owen Geiger, CC '28	Ben Sommer, CC '26	Danny Schaffer, CC '27
Sam Allen, CC '28	Mrin Chilkoti '27	Peter Walter, CC '27
James Dodman, CC '28	Gonzalo Cortes, SEAS '27	Josh Wang, CC '26
Grace Paterson, BC '25	Olivia McDonald, BC '25	Rasa Audejaitis, BC '25