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

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