LACHINE, QUE – The McGill University elite men's varsity eight rowers defeated Toronto for the second consecutive year but the Varsity Blues took three of four races to capture the third annual Toronto-McGill Challenge, Saturday morning.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS ON INSTAGRAM
U of T, which won all four coin tosses and chose the outside lane, captured the women's varsity eight and both men's and women's reserve eights to take home the Terry & Aileen Stevens Cup, presented to the team with the lowest cumulative time from all four races. The Blues clocked a combined time of 32 minutes, 51.90 seconds to finish ahead of McGill's 32:59.35. The rowers of each winning boat were presented with a golden medallion. They also received the shirts off the back of their opponent, a tradition that dates back to the first rendezvous in 1926.
This event marked the 99th anniversary of the first-ever confrontation between two of the oldest rowing clubs in North America. They first met on Oct. 16, 1926 at the Lachine Canal, a race that McGill won by 1.5 boat lengths. This annual challenge is arguably the Canadian equivalent of England's historic Oxford-Cambridge confrontation and the epic Harvard-Yale race in the U.S.
This year's edition of "The Challenge" was held in mild winds, calm waters and cloudy, 10C weather conditions at the historic site of the Lachine Rowing Club, along the northern banks of the St. Lawrence River, and Canada's oldest rowing group, which was founded in 1872.
In the men's varsity eight, McGill captured the Barber Pole Trophy by almost 18 seconds, the largest margin of victory of the four races. The Redbirds completed the 2.4-kilometre course in 7:00.74, easily outdistancing Toronto, which crossed the finish line in 7:18.54. The teams were neck-and-neck until the midway mark, but a Toronto oar in the bow seat broke after striking a buoy and the Blues finished the final 800 metres with only seven oars.
The winning McGill boat was composed of
Ayoub Sabri of Rabat, Morocco in the No. 8 seat, followed by
Patrice Légaré (Montreal),
Jacob Lofaro (Grimsby, Ony.),
Edison Luke (Vancouver, B.C.),
Markus Maile (Vancouver, B.C.),
Angus Burke (Lisbon Falls, Maine),
Brennan King (Vancouver, B.C.),
Nicholas Bacon (Witham, Essex; UK) and coxswain
Paige McCallum (Villanova, Penn).
"The weather conditions were impeccable, we could not have hoped for better, especially considering that we canceled our practice yesterday (Friday) because it was too windy," said
Stéphanie Marchand, a former McGill rower and assistant coach who is now in her second year as head coach of the Montreal-based institution. "It was really good competitive racing, everyone worked hard to make this a successful event, especially from the Lachine Rowing Club and we didn't need to use the medical team, which is always a good thing. Everything ran smoothly and we organized a wonderful buffet meal with U of T the night before, with mixed tables so we could get to know each other a little better. It was well-received and at the end of the day, we are both chasing the same goals and respect each other. We are already super excited for this event in Toronto next season."
In the women's varsity eight, Toronto won the Varsity Cup by four seconds, posting a time of 8:14.13. The Martlets crew was clocked in 8:18.16.
The winning U of T boat featured
Dhalia Rostom (Ottawa),
Elena Eberhardt (Idstein, Germany),
Mia Penney (Sidney, B.C.),
Jane Paterson (Toronto),
Fortune David (Brampton, Ont),
Guinevere Reaume (Wayne, Penn),
Olivia Ruffolo (Markham, Ont),
Sophie Corradini (Carlisle, Ont) and coxie
Elizabeth Yeoh (Markham, Ont).
In the men's reserve eight, Toronto won the Chancellor Edward Beatty Cup with a time of 8:09.72, while McGill crossed the line in 8:19.47.
The victorious Varsity Blues crew was composed of
John McDonald (New Albany, Ohio),
Devansh Singhi (Dubai, UAE),
Liam McFarland (St. Catharines, Ont),
Aref Alkouatli (Vancouver, B.C.),
Cole Hilmer (Toronto),
Daniel Pinto (Toronto),
Aleksander Budzinski (Warsaw, Poland),
Sami Ahmed (Singapore) and coxie
Jack Edwards (Shrewsbury, Mass).
In the women's reserve eight, Toronto won the Spirit of 1980 Trophy with a time of 9:09.51, some 11 seconds ahead of McGill (9:20.98).
The U of T boat included
Taryn Fention-Stickle (Barrie, Ont),
Charlotte Stein (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina),
Alice Calugar (Etobicoke, Ont),
Augusta Monte (Oakville, Ont),
Lauren Pearson (Burlington, Ont),
Maddy Glowinski (Victoria, B.C.),
Anatasija Petrovic (New Westminster, B.C.),
Emily Rosevear (Mount Albert, Ont), and coxie
Emily Boeva (Mississauga, Ont).
The McGill rowing club dates back to its founding meeting in December, 1925, followed by the first competition in 1926. It has featured many athletes who have represented Canada on the international scene, including 18 Olympians. Toronto, the oldest collegiate rowing program in Canada, dates back to 1897 and has produced 25 Olympic rowers.
Renewal of the Toronto-McGill clash is another dimension to a long-standing athletic rivalry that has existed between these two schools since 1881 when their first rugby-football confrontation began. The inaugural rowing match-up between the two schools – billed as the first-ever intercollegiate rowing competition on Canadian waters – took place in chilly, windy conditions at Lachine, Que., in 1926. The upcoming centennial celebration of that event was the impetus for McGill being recently selected to host the Canadian University Rowing Association's (CURA) national championships, at the Olympic basin on Île Notre-Dame, just south of Montreal, Nov. 1-2, 2025.
LINK TO OFFICIAL RESULTS
HISTORY OF THE McGILL-TORONTO CHALLENGE
| Year |
Host |
Venue |
Event |
Winner |
Time |
| 1926 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
McGill |
(na) |
| 1927 |
Toronto |
Toronto Harbour |
Men's Eights |
McGill |
(na) |
| 1928 |
Neutral |
Martindale Pond |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1929 |
Neutral |
Martindale Pond |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1930 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1931 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1932 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1933 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1934 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1935 |
McGill |
Lachine Canal |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
(na) |
| 1937-2022 |
Challenge Not Held |
| 2023 |
McGill |
Olympic Basin |
Men's Eights |
Toronto |
6:15.0 |
| Women's Eights |
Toronto |
7:22.0 |
| Mixed Reserve Eights |
Toronto |
7:05.0 |
| 2024 |
Toronto |
Argonaut Rowing Club |
Men's Eights |
McGill |
7:34.4 |
| Women's Eights |
Toronto |
8:21.9 |
| Men's Reserve Eights |
Toronto |
8:08.0 |
| Women's Reserve Eights |
Toronto |
9:03.1 |
| 2025 |
McGill |
Lachine Rowing Club |
Men's Eights |
McGill |
7:00.74 |
| Women's Eights |
Toronto |
8:14.13 |
| Men's Reserve Eights |
Toronto |
8:09.72 |
| Women's Reserve Eights |
Toronto |
9:09.51 |
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
