In a pair of men's crew matches this past weekend in Derby, Conn., Yale was able to edge out Penn both times.
In the heavyweight competition, the Elis were able to repeat as champions of the Blackwell Cup by beating the Quakers by just over three seconds.
Yale coasted down the Housatonic River course with a time of 5:49.9, compared to Penn's 5:53.1.
Both teams were able to pull away from Columbia's varsity eight, which finished a distant third with a time of 6:01.3.
The lightweight competition was even closer, as Yale was just two-tenths of a second faster than Penn.
In a photo finish, the Elis were just a bowball ahead of the Quakers, giving them this year's Dodge Cup.
Yale finished with a time of 5:57.1, and Penn had a time of 5:57.3.
Again, Columbia finished third. The Lions finished with a time of 6:01.
The only Penn men's rowing squad to finish ahead of Yale in the regattas this weekend was the Quakers' heavyweight novice eight squad.
The Red and Blue blew away its competition, completing the race just under 10 seconds faster than its next closest competitor.
The Quakers almost pulled off another victory in the lightweight second varsity competition. But again, they fell to the Elis in another close race.
Yale finished with a time of 5:55.1, just edging out Penn's time of 5:55.9.
Both men's teams return home this weekend for action on the Schuylkill River.
The lightweight team will take on rival Princeton for the Wood-Hammond Trophy, while the heavyweight squad will try to defend its home course, squaring off against Harvard and Navy for the Adams Cup.
-- David Burrick
Women's Crew edged out by Big Red
The Penn women's crew team learned the importance of eight hundreths of a second the hard way on Saturday, as the Varsity 8 squad fell to Cornell by a split second in Ithaca, N.Y.
The Big Red's time of 6:40.77 was just enough for them to capture the Class of '89 Plate. The Quakers finished with a time of 6:40.85, far ahead of third place Rutgers' time of 6:47.35.
But Penn would not return to Philadelphia winless. Three other women's crew squads -- the varsity four "A," varsity four "B" and second novice eight -- all won their races.
Most impressive was the varsity four "B" team, which defeated its only opponent, Rutgers, by over 17 seconds.
The women's team will travel to Hanover, N. H., this weekend to face Princeton, Virginia and Dartmouth.
-- D.B.
