After strong performances in the fall races and months of preparation, Princeton men’s and women’s rowing both open their seasons this weekend. Far from easing into competition, the teams will face some of their toughest rivals right off the bat in the first of a series of dual meets that lead up to the end-of-season eastern sprints and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. With both the men and women competing for Ivy League and national championships, the teams would love to start the year off with winning performances in this weekend’s competitions.
The only team traveling for its opening game, the men’s lightweight team will head down to Annapolis and Washington, D.C. to face the United States Naval Academy and Georgetown University. Princeton has triumphed over Navy, Saturday’s opponent, for the annually-awarded Murtaugh Cup for seven straight years, including a 15-second win over the Midshipmen last year. However, after victories in the fourth and fifth boats last year, Navy’s lower boats should prove to be a good test of Princeton’s depth as the rowers compete for places on the top boats. On Sunday, the Tigers will take on the Hoyas for the Fosburgh Cup, which Princeton has retained for three straight years dating back to the 2012 season. With the last two victories coming by over 20-second margins, the Tigers have every reason to believe that the streak should stay alive this season as well.
The men’s heavyweight team has an easier trip over to Lake Carnegie on Saturday, where it too will face the Hoyas. The team has enjoyed similar success against Georgetown, including a dominant 18-second victory last season. With crucial races against Columbia, Penn, Harvard, and Cornell coming up in the next few weeks, the Tigers look to replicate their past performances against the Hoyas and defend their status as the top program in the east.
The women’s lightweight squad will also be in action on Lake Carnegie on Saturday as it hosts Harvard for the 1999 Cup. After avenging a 10-second loss in 2014 with a tight one-second victory last year, Princeton proceeded to fall to Harvard in both the eastern sprints and IRA championships. In what has been a back-and-forth series with perhaps their biggest rival, a win on Saturday will go a long way toward giving the Princeton squad the confidence to prevail this season in the end-of-season championships.
Finally, the women’s open crew team will face perhaps the toughest opponent of its season when it takes on Brown, along with Ohio State University, on Lake Carnegie on Saturday as well. The Bears, reigning Ivy League Champions, bested the Tigers by over seven seconds in this race last year and were also the only Ivy League team to beat Princeton at both the Head of the Charles and the Princeton Chase in the fall. Looking to avoid dropping its opener to Brown for the third straight year, and to establish itself as the new team to beat in the league, Princeton hopes to have improved enough to pull off a huge win over the Bears on Saturday.
Although all four teams will ultimately be looking forward to the two big championship races at the end of the season, these early dual meets can be crucial for the teams’ performances there. From pride to building confidence to determining the top eight rowers to fill out the first boat, no one will take these competitions lightly as the teams hope all their hard work over the winter will translate to success on the water.
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