All four rowing teams complete races over weekend

Heavyweight

With the season almost halfway over, the Princeton heavyweight rowing team appears to be in top form as it completed its third race this weekend. Having defeated Georgetown in its season opener and Navy last weekend, it managed to earn the same result this past Saturday. Competing in the Childs’ Cup, the first varsity topped nearby Ivy League rivals Penn and Columbia, finishing with a time of 6:03.8. The gap between the teams was not a small one — Penn had a second place time of 6:10.5, and Columbia brought up the rear with the a time of 6:16.2.

Prior to visiting Lake Carnegie, the Lions and the Quakers had both seen their own fair shares of success. In the past two weeks, Columbia had defeated Princeton’s neighbor Rutgers and placed second in a field of four at the Alumni Cup in Boston, Mass. Penn, for its part, has already shown its mettle in its performances this spring. Their team had defeated George Washington and Northeastern on March 21st and April 4th, respectively.

With their victory over these teams behind them, the Tigers can now focus on next week’s battle at home, where they will take on MIT and Harvard.

Men’s lightweight

Following their second-place performance in its race against Navy and Columbia, the Princeton men’s lightweight rowing team would travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to do battle against another Ivy League foe: the Cornell Big Red. Prior to its match against Princeton, Cornell had only one race in the spring, where it topped Penn and Harvard at a race in Philadelphia in the previous week.

The first varsity would be unable to break Cornell’s unbeaten streak against Ivy League foes. The Big Red would finish in six minutes flat, while the Tigers came in with a 6:03.2 time. The loss continues a long-standing streak for Princeton, who have been unable to defeat Cornell’s men’s lightweight team in the regular season since the spring of 2011.

Following this loss, the Tigers will make a short hop to Philadelphia to continue their weekends against Ivy League opponents. They will face both Georgetown and Penn next Saturday, hoping to grab their first win since defeating Georgetown on March 28.

Women’s lightweight

After a weekend of rest, the women’s lightweight team returned to take place in the Knecht Cup. Having shown its mettle at its last meet in San Diego, the team went out and showed its skills in the same way at home.

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Traveling to nearby West Windsor, N.J., the women’s lightweight team placed second in a field of five different universities. Moreover, it would push national powerhouse Radcliffe (part of Harvard) to the limit. The ladies from Cambridge finished with a time of 6:49.14 — the Tigers would come right behind with a time of 6:50.69. Moreover, the Tigers proved themselves a level above most of the competition. After the Boston A team, which finished .9 seconds behind Princeton, the next closest team was behind by nearly seven full seconds.

With a strong showing on their home turf behind them, Princeton will travel to Cambridge, Mass., to take on Radcliffe once more in the Class of 1999 Cup.

Women’s open

Following a victory over Columbia last weekend at Lake Carnegie, the Princeton women’s open team would top its Ivy League rivals once more in the same location. Coming second in a field of four, it would outpace visiting Radcliffe (who are a part of Harvard) and Cornell, while coming behind the University of Virginia.

Besides last place Cornell, the remaining three teams exhibited a tightly contested race. Princeton finished 2.3 seconds behind Virginia and Radcliffe a mere .7 seconds behind Princeton. With this win, Princeton finds itself 3-1 in league competition, having lost only to Brown in the season opener.

The women’s open team will have more chances to improve on its already strong league record, as it has its first race on the road next weekend. The team looks to defeat the Yale Bulldogs, who themselves have had strong results in Ivy League competition, having beaten Columbia and Penn on March 28.