Follow us on Instagram
Try our daily mini crossword
Play our latest news quiz
Download our new app on iOS/Android!

Lightweight women earn bronze at EAWRCs, men's heavies and open women end regular seasons with wins

Princeton fades to bronze after taking early lead at Eastern Sprints

ADVERTISEMENT

Certainly no one can question the heart and determination of the nine women who make up No. 3 Princeton’s first varsity lightweight boat. The first of the four Princeton crews to start the postseason, this group of Tigers jumped out to an early lead over top-seeded Radcliffe, which had handed them a 10-second defeat just a week prior. Princeton would fall off the pace to be surpassed by No. 4 Wisconsin, finishing third in 6:34.464. Still, there were no regrets about the “no guts, no glory” approach.

"We led the first 400 meters,” said head coach Paul Rassam in an interview with GoPrincetonTigers.com. “Perhaps that cost us the silver. Maybe we extended ourselves a little too much. I don't know. I'd rather go for it like that 10 out of 10 times.”

The second varsity eight and varsity four could not manage any better, as both crews placed fourth in their respective races.

Princeton will have nearly four weeks of solid training before competing at the IRA National Championships in Cherry Hill, N.J. Radcliffe will again be the primary competition, although No. 2 Stanford will send a competitive squad across the country.

No. 5 men’s heavies earn momentum-turning win over No. 6 Brown

Princeton faced Brown for the Content Cup Saturday in its final regular season matchup. Having lost to No. 4 Harvard and No. 3 Yale the last two weekends, the Tigers sorely needed a win on senior day to raise the team’s spirits ahead of the EARC Championships. They would get just that with a resounding victory in 5:31.9, more than four seconds ahead of Brown in 5:36.3.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It was a fun race today," senior Dave Mackasey noted in his interview with the University's Athletic Communications. "It's always good to go out and get the last one at home. We train a lot of long hours for a few precious moments, so I think the seniors took a few minutes today to really let our last race at home soak in. Winning is always fun, but doing it in front of friends, family, and alumni at home on Lake Carnegie is a pretty cool and special feeling."

Princeton remedied a slow start that had been costly in the losses to the Crimson and Bulldogs. Those squads will undoubtedly be the top competition at the Eastern Sprints/Ivy League Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in two weeks.

Seniors race one last time on Lake Carnegie, record perfect sweep of Clemson

Princeton’s open varsity eight closed out an 8-2 regular season record with a 13.3 second drubbing of Clemson, 6:06.8 to 6:20.0. It would turn out to be the second-closest race on a day of celebration for the No. 7 Tigers. The seniors were honored, as was Lori Dauphiny, the team’s head coach for the past 25 years. Dauphiny is a two-time national Coach of the Year and has led Princeton to five Ivy League championships and two individual boat national championships.

Subscribe
Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“Lori has been a huge part of my Princeton career and I would not be the rower I am today without her coaching and guidance,” senior Maggie Cochrane said. “She has cemented an amazing legacy of coaching here at Princeton and I am so fortunate to have been able to develop under her expertise.”

The 2V boat coasted to an 18.9 second victory to wrap up an undefeated regular season. The varsity four also took care of business with a six-second win, and the third varsity eight was the most dominant of all in its 24.5 second victory.

Two weeks remain before the Ivy League Championships in nearby Cherry Hill, N.J. Brown handed Princeton its only Ivy loss this season and looks to be the top challenger at each varsity level.

Lightweight men lose second close race in four weeks to Columbia

On April 5, the Tigers lost to Columbia by just about the smallest conceivable margin: .1 seconds. Last Saturday the margin was wider, but the result the same: The No. 3 Lions emerged victorious by 2.2 seconds, 5:53.2 to 5:55.4. No. 2 Princeton was lucky to hold off hard-charging No. 6 Delaware by .8 seconds.

"It was a tough day today," junior Bowen Peard said. "Columbia was the faster crew. They got off the line very quickly, taking most or all of their margin in the first 300 meters. We came out pretty flat in our start, and let them get away. After that first 500, we made a few moves to get back into the race, but Columbia responded each time and controlled the race the whole way down the course."

The other varsity eights salvaged the day for Princeton, each recording a victory. The second varsity’s two-second win was especially notable as it capped an undefeated regular season.

The lights will travel with the heavies to Worcester, Mass., for the EARC Championships in two weeks. The top five boats in the nation will be competing there, led by Cornell. The Big Red handed the Tigers their biggest loss of the season on April 12, by 4.1 seconds.