For the most recent updates on the Heavyweight Crew, please go to the department-run website at the following link:  http://yalebulldogs.collegesports.com/

Class Day honors Brian Jamieson and the Class of '91

Brian Jamieson, second from right, was honored by his teammates on March 20, 2004 at the Gilder Boathouse in Derby.  His teammates purchased the new shell to be named for Brian citing his work ethic, determination and commitment while at Yale. These qualities later earned Brian a Silver Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in the Men's Quadruple Sculls. The Class of '91 - Brian Jamieson, Dan Debonis, Jer McClanahan, Chris Tolsdorf, Todd Wyche, Will Sheilds, Josh Ramus, Will Stevens, Brian Harte (not pictured).

The undergraduate Class Day race was won by the Junior class for the second year running, as they sprinted from behind to pass the Freshmen in the last 5 strokes.  The Sophomores finished 3rd, and the Senior/combo crew finished 4th. 

Andrew Brennan, Captain, '04 Wins Gold Medal at Pan-American Games

Andrew Brennan, in the 3-seat, won a Gold Medal at the Pan American Games, Sunday, August 10, 2003.   Story to come...

Yale-Harvard Regatta

New London, CT - Harvard claimed the 138th Yale-Harvard Regatta on June 7, winning the varsity race with a time of 18:54.4 to Yale's 19:44.2. The Crimson also took the freshman (9:49.4 to 10:06.8) and junior varsity (13:57 to 14:31.2) races.

The day featured lots of drizzle but smooth conditions on the water. It marked Harvard's third straight sweep. The Crimson entered the competition ranked #1 in the country and were national champions and sprint champions. Yale was ranked #17 and finished 11th at sprints.

 Please click here for full results.

IRA Report

Camden, NJ - Yale Heavyweight Crew brought a Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Freshman Eight and Open Four to the 101st running of the IRA Regatta.  The Varsity finished 15th, the Second Varsity and Freshman both placed 10th.  The Open Four finished 13th.  Please click here for results.

Eastern Sprints Report

Worcester, MA - Like last year, Yale only managed to get the frosh eight into the finals of the Eastern Sprints.  The Varsity and JV eights finished 11th and 10th, respectively.

In the V8 heat, with only two to qualify, Yale finished fourth, 5.5 seconds behind defending champs Wisconsin, 4.2 seconds behind 2nd place Dartmouth, and 3.5 seconds behind 3rd place Princeton.  Then, in the petite final, after a poor first thousand, Yale came from behind to beat Penn, and finish 1 second behind Princeton, to take 5th.

The JV8 came third in their heat, 6 seconds behind 1st place Wisco, but only 1.5 seconds behind second place Navy, and thus missed qualifying for the final.  Then, in the petite final, the JV8 had only a mediocre race, and finished 4th.

The frosh had to come from behind in the last 20 strokes of their heat to beat Navy, and thus qualify for the final.  It was actually a great show of poise on their part, keeping their cadence lower, being patient, and then making a visible and significant move to retake the lead and add an additional 1.5 second cushion.  In the final, Yale was off the pace, and could only manage to keep an overlap with 5th place Cornell.

Tough Weekend for Yale Heavyweights

Princeton, NJ - On Saturday May 3rd, the Yale Heavyweight Varsity was defeated by Oregon State and Rutgers on Lake Carnegie.  Later in the afternoon, Yale and Brown met for a duel race, with Brown winning the Varsity, JV and Frosh races.  For results from the Varsity race with Oregon St. and Rutgers, click here, and for results from the Brown race, click here.

Yale Falls to Cornell and Princeton

Ithaca, NY - On Saturday, April 26th,  Cornell's Varsity Eight beat both Princeton and Yale to win the Carnegie Cup.  It was a tough day of racing for Yale, with all of the Bulldog crews falling to Cornell and Princeton.  For full results click here.  The Heavyweights look to rebound on May 3rd with races against Oregon State, Rutgers and Brown on Carnegie Lake in Princeton, NJ.

Blackwell Cup returns to New Haven.

April 19, 2003 - For the first time in four years, the Heavyweight Varsity captured the Blackwell Cup, beating Penn and Columbia on Saturday.  Racing on the 1964 Olympic Trials course in Orchard Beach, NY, Yale clocked a 5:48.8 to Penn's 5:49.5 and Columbia's 5:58.0.  The Junior Varsity 8+ and Freshman 8+ were also victorious.  The Second Freshman 4+ fell to the Quakers.  For full results click here.

Varsity edged by Dartmouth, JV & Frosh Win

April 12, 2003 - In its season opener, the Yale Heavyweight Varsity fell just short in an exciting race against Dartmouth.  Dartmouth took the early lead and held off the late-charging Elis for a 1.1 second victory.  Yale was victorious in the day's other races, winning the Junior Varsity 8+, Freshman 8+ and Second Freshman 4+.  For full results, click here.

Andrew Brennan Places 2nd at Crash-B's

On Sunday February 23rd, Yale Junior Andrew Brennan headed to Boston for the annual Crash-B Indoor World Rowing Championships.  Brennan rowed a 5:59.1 in the qualifying heat earning him a spot in the Collegiate Final.  In the Final, Brennan finished the 2000 meter piece in 5:59.2, placing him second in the Collegiate Division.  Congratulations Andrew!  For full Crash-B results click here.

Yale Heavyweight Crew Heads South to Warmer Waters

On March 9th Yale Heavyweight Crew will head south to Tampa, FL for our annual Spring Break Training Camp.  With the harsh winter here in New Haven, we are all anxious to get outdoors and do some great rowing on the warmer waters of the Hillsboro River and Tampa Bay.

Rusty Wailes, Yale Oarsman and Olympian, dies
On the morning of October 11, Richard "Rusty" Wailes died of a heart attack at the age of 66 while rowing with friends on Lake Washington in Seattle.  The Yale Rowing family will miss Rusty.  He sits below in the seven seat of Yale's 1956 Olympic Gold Medal Eight.  

To read more in the Seattle Times, click here.  

Pescatore Named New Head Coach
John Pescatore, a two-time United States Olympic rower, has been named head coach of the Yale Heavyweight Crew, Athletic Director Tom Beckett announced August 28. Pescatore, who has been an assistant coach at both the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, won a bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games as the stroke for the U.S. heavyweight eight and was the stroke for the U.S. pair without coxswain that placed sixth in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. In addition, he was the stroke for the heavyweight eight that captured a gold medal at the 1987 World Championships in Copenhagen. Pescatore also has international coaching experience. He served as the assistant coach for the United States Olympic Rowing Team (Dec. '99-Oct. 00) in Princeton, N.J., and coached the men's coxless pair to a silver medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. For his efforts, he was named the 2000 U.S. Rowing Coach of the Year. "I'm thrilled to be invited into the Yale community," Pescatore said. "I'm looking forward to pushing this program forward. I love this sport, and I can't wait to get started." Most recently, Pescatore was an assistant coach at Pennsylvania last spring and the head coach of the Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia, historically the most successful club program in the Unites States for placing athletes on national and Olympic rowing teams. Prior to that, Pescatore was the director of both girls and boys rowing at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco where he coached both the varsity and junior varsity eights to medals in all seven of his years. In 1997, he guided his varsity eight to a national championship, which made St. Ignatius the most successful crew in California High School rowing history. Pescatore was an assistant coach at Stanford for three years where he recruited freshmen on and off campus. "I'm excited to have John leading our heavyweight crew program," Beckett said. "His success as a rower, and his coaching experience make him one of the premier crew coaches in the country." Pescatore is a 1986 graduate of Pennsylvania and was the captain of the heavyweight crew that won the Eastern Sprints title in his senior year. He earned his Masters degree in teaching mathematics from the University of San Francisco in 1996. (August 29th)

Brennan '04 Captures Bronze Medal
After finishing second in the morning semifinal, Andrew Brennan '04 (Valley Forge, Pa.) came back to win a bronze medal in the final of the men’s pair at the Under-23 World Championships in Genoa, Italy. Brennan (bow seat) and partner Sam Burns clocked a 7:43.54 to finish 8.24 seconds behind the gold-medal crew from Italy. Latvia took home the silver medal in a time of 7:38.79. The U.S. duo sat in fourth place at the 500-meter mark and had passed Argentina for third place by the midway point of the race. However, the top two crews established their positions off the line and the U.S. was never able to cut into the deficit. (July 31st).