NEW YORK — The Columbia rowing crews enjoyed their first full weekend of racing. The heavyweight and lightweight crews hosted their season-opening regattas at Overpeck Park, while the women's team took on No. 15 Ohio State and No. 16 Indiana at the Ohio State Regatta.
 
The weekend highlights included the heavyweight Varsity 8 winning its 19th straight Collins Cup with a 15.5-second win over Rutgers on Saturday. The 2V8 also defeated the Scarlet Knights by over 20 seconds.
 
The heavyweight crew now holds a 20-3 record over the Scarlet Knights since the debut of the race. The Collins Cup was a gift of Kevin and Helen Collins, both of whom are Rutgers graduates. Kevin Collins also holds a graduate degree from Columbia.
 
On the women's side, Columbia's V8 won a tight race against the opposing boat from No. 16 Indiana. The Lions crossed the 1,000-meter mark ahead by four-tenths of a second and went on to earn a three-second victory. Columbia also defeated the Hoosiers by two seconds in the 2V8, eight seconds in the Varsity 4 and seven seconds in the 2V4.
 
The Columbia women then faced the Varsity 8 from No. 15 Ohio State on Saturday, trailing by less than a second halfway through before the Buckeyes pulled away from a four-second victory. The rest of Saturday's races were canceled due to inclement weather.
 
The lightweights hosted Mercyhurst and Georgetown for races Saturday morning, followed by afternoon races against Georgetown and Harvard. In the morning session, the Varsity 8, 2V8 and 3V4 all finished in front of Mercyhurst but were second to the Hoyas. In the afternoon, the Second Varsity 8 defeated Georgetown but came up short against Harvard. The Varsity 8 and 3V8 were both third to the Crimson and Hoyas.

Click here for Columbia lineups from this weekend's racing.

Heavyweight Rowing vs. Rutgers (Collins Cup)
Click Here for Results

Lightweight Rowing vs. Harvard/Georgetown/Mercyhurst
Click Here for AM Results
Click Here for PM Results

Women's Rowing at Ohio State Regatta
Results vs. Indiana
Results vs. Ohio State

Up Next
All three crews are in action on Saturday, April 12. The heavyweights remain home for more racing at Overpeck Park against Princeton and Penn. The lightweights will be in Philadelphia to race Penn and Yale for the Dodge Cup. The women's team will look for its third straight Woodbury Cup, traveling to Boston to take on Northeastern.

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