Friday, April 18
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
All Day
Columbia University
at
Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Race
Lightweight Rowing Dominates at SIRA's; Heavyweights Fall in Blackwell Cup Regatta
4/19/2025 5:49:00 PM | Heavyweight Rowing, Lightweight Rowing
All three lightweight crews went undefeated at the two-day event
NEW YORK - Columbia lightweight rowing had its best weekend of the young season after earning three victories in "A" Finals at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Races in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The Lions placed first in all eight races over the two days, highlighted by a photo-finish triumph from the varsity eight over Virginia in the regatta's finale.
The Lions and Cavaliers jumped ahead of the pack early in the final. Virginia held a three-seat lead at the halfway point before Columbia closed the gap. The crews were neck-and-neck headed into the final 500 meters, and a strong kick by the Lions gave Columbia a three-seat triumph.
Columbia's top crew also topped the Cavaliers by a second for the top spot in the prelims (5:20.028) and picked up a five-second victory (6:08.818) over Stetson and four other boats in the semifinals on Saturday morning to set up the race for gold.
The Lions' second varsity also earned a gold medal after clocking in at 6:05.137, nine seconds ahead of Virginia. On Friday, Columbia raced twice and finished first in the opening round, with a time of 5:27.952, which was just about two seconds faster than second-place Virginia. The Lions had an even more convincing victory, pulling in at 6:19.897, which was six seconds faster than Purde in the seven-crew semifinals.
The doubles' crew of Tony Valentino and Ethan Lee picked up a win after crossing the line in 7:15.42, which was four seconds ahead of the Wash U pair for a win in the A Final. In their first race on Friday, the pair turned in a time of 6:31.058, which was eight seconds faster than the runners-up from Washington University, clinching their spot in the main draw.
In the semifinals,
The heavyweights were also in action on Saturday at the Blackwell Cup Regatta, competing against Yale and Penn in Philadelphia. The Lions placed third in a pair of races at the Schuykill. Complete results can be found here.
Up Next
The heavyweights and women both compete next weekend, April 26-27, while the lightweights are off. The heavyweight program will compete at the Lake Morey Invitational, hosted by Dartmouth, while the women will participate in the Wheeler Invitational in Durham, North Carolina.
Lightweight Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox: Rasa Audejaitis, 8: James Dodman, 7: Sam Allen, 6: Owen Geiger, 5: Owen Anawalt, 4: Mrinaak Chilkoti, 3: Ravi Conway, 2: Nitin Rao, Bow: Arin Jaff
Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Grace Paterson, 8: Gonzalo Cortes, 7: Joshua Wang, 6: Finn Regan, 5: Alptug Kaynar, 4: Ben Sommer 3: Samuel Wilson, 2: Oscar Bletoux, Bow: Amir LaGasse
Varsity Two
2: Tony Valentino, 1: Ethan Lee
Heavyweight Lineups
Varsity Eight in the Jonathan Lavine
Cox: Lucy Roberts, 8: Colton Millar, 7: Adam Pushner, 6: Daniel Robbins, 5: Conor Parks, 4: Eric Morais, 3: Charles Cartisser, 2: Victor Popovic, Bow: Nathan Abriels
Second Varsity Eight in the KCRA Spirit
Cox: Alex Castellini, 8: Nick Smyth, 7: Mateja Mitrovic, 6: Charles Boldt, 5: Kyle Grose, 4: Alessandro Lee, 3: Harrison Halper, 2: Barnaby Russell, Bow: Nick Gonzalez
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia Rowing, follow @CULionsRowing on X and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com
The Lions and Cavaliers jumped ahead of the pack early in the final. Virginia held a three-seat lead at the halfway point before Columbia closed the gap. The crews were neck-and-neck headed into the final 500 meters, and a strong kick by the Lions gave Columbia a three-seat triumph.
Columbia's top crew also topped the Cavaliers by a second for the top spot in the prelims (5:20.028) and picked up a five-second victory (6:08.818) over Stetson and four other boats in the semifinals on Saturday morning to set up the race for gold.
The Lions' second varsity also earned a gold medal after clocking in at 6:05.137, nine seconds ahead of Virginia. On Friday, Columbia raced twice and finished first in the opening round, with a time of 5:27.952, which was just about two seconds faster than second-place Virginia. The Lions had an even more convincing victory, pulling in at 6:19.897, which was six seconds faster than Purde in the seven-crew semifinals.
The doubles' crew of Tony Valentino and Ethan Lee picked up a win after crossing the line in 7:15.42, which was four seconds ahead of the Wash U pair for a win in the A Final. In their first race on Friday, the pair turned in a time of 6:31.058, which was eight seconds faster than the runners-up from Washington University, clinching their spot in the main draw.
In the semifinals,
The heavyweights were also in action on Saturday at the Blackwell Cup Regatta, competing against Yale and Penn in Philadelphia. The Lions placed third in a pair of races at the Schuykill. Complete results can be found here.
Up Next
The heavyweights and women both compete next weekend, April 26-27, while the lightweights are off. The heavyweight program will compete at the Lake Morey Invitational, hosted by Dartmouth, while the women will participate in the Wheeler Invitational in Durham, North Carolina.
Lightweight Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox: Rasa Audejaitis, 8: James Dodman, 7: Sam Allen, 6: Owen Geiger, 5: Owen Anawalt, 4: Mrinaak Chilkoti, 3: Ravi Conway, 2: Nitin Rao, Bow: Arin Jaff
Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Grace Paterson, 8: Gonzalo Cortes, 7: Joshua Wang, 6: Finn Regan, 5: Alptug Kaynar, 4: Ben Sommer 3: Samuel Wilson, 2: Oscar Bletoux, Bow: Amir LaGasse
Varsity Two
2: Tony Valentino, 1: Ethan Lee
Heavyweight Lineups
Varsity Eight in the Jonathan Lavine
Cox: Lucy Roberts, 8: Colton Millar, 7: Adam Pushner, 6: Daniel Robbins, 5: Conor Parks, 4: Eric Morais, 3: Charles Cartisser, 2: Victor Popovic, Bow: Nathan Abriels
Second Varsity Eight in the KCRA Spirit
Cox: Alex Castellini, 8: Nick Smyth, 7: Mateja Mitrovic, 6: Charles Boldt, 5: Kyle Grose, 4: Alessandro Lee, 3: Harrison Halper, 2: Barnaby Russell, Bow: Nick Gonzalez
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia Rowing, follow @CULionsRowing on X and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
COX
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
COX
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
COX
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
/ Lightweight Rowing
Columbia Classics Shorts - Lightweight Rowing 2014 Eastern Sprints
Tuesday, April 20
Feature: LWROW | 2019 Season Preview
Thursday, March 28
Race Archive: Columbia vs. Harvard 2V | LWROW 4/8/18
Sunday, April 08
