Courtesy: Princeton Crew/Tom Nowak The Tiger novice eight fell to Cornell during a morning regatta in Ithaca.

The Carnegie Cup knows how to pack light. After all, for the sixth straight year, it hasn't had to go anywhere after the annual Cornell-Princeton-Yale heavyweight regatta.

While both Princeton and Yale came into the morning sharing the fifth spot in the latest USRowing men’s varsity eight poll, it was the 11th-ranked Cornell Big Red which reclaimed the historic Carnegie Cup. The Big Red finished in 6:00.7, 3.9 seconds faster than second-place Princeton. Yale took third in 6:11.3.

The win moves Cornell within two of Princeton in the all-time Carnegie Cup rivalry. The Tigers still lead the series, which dates back to 1911, with 36 victories; the Big Red claimed its 34th win Saturday morning on its own Cayuga Inlet. Yale remains third with 20 victories.

For the sixth straight season, the home team was the one to claim the Cup. After Princeton's win on Lake Carnegie in 2010, and a Yale victory on the Housatonic in 2009, Cornell took control of the varsity eight race in a slight headwind to earn the win. No team has won two straight Cups since Princeton earned wins in both 2005 and 2006.

It was a very strong day for the home program, which swept all four morning races. The Big Red 2V posted a winning time of 6:04.3, while Princeton finished third in 6:16.2. The Tiger freshman eight also took third, though it was a much tighter pack all around; Cornell won in 6:01.0, while Princeton's time of 6:06.4 was only 2.1 seconds behind Yale.

The tightest finish of the day came in the third varsity race, as Princeton (6:20.1) fell to Cornell by only .4 of a second.

Princeton will return home next weekend to take on Brown for the Content Cup. The fourth-ranked Bears lead the all-time series 10-8, though Princeton ended a four-year drought last spring with a 2.6-second win.

Varsity Eight
Cornell 6:00.7
Princeton 6:04.6
Yale 6:11.3

Second Varsity Eight
Cornell 6:04.3
Yale 6:08.7
Princeton 6:16.2

Third Varsity Eight
Cornell 3V 6:19.7
Princeton 3V 6:20.1
Cornell 2F 6:42.0

Freshman Eight
Cornell 6:01.0
Yale 6:04.5
Princeton 6:06.4