Women's crew teams prepare to wind down seasons in final contests

The Princeton lightweight team will head to Lake Quinsigamond, Mass., to compete in the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges championships on Sunday, while their open crew counterparts will look to end their season on a high note with a final meet against Duke before the Ivy League Championships.

The lightweight team will be beginning its post-season competition at the EAWRC championships, coming off of a resounding final victory over Georgetown where the Tigers’ first varsity boat finished over 10 seconds ahead of that of the Hoyas. Looking forward toward this weekend’s tournament, Princeton can take confidence in its performances throughout the spring. The lightweight team has thus far only fallen thrice to top-ranked Stanford, second-ranked Boston University and an imposing Harvard squad.

The EAWRC championships will feature many familiar competitors for Princeton: Georgetown will once again be in attendance, as will be the remainder of the Ivy League and Boston University. The meet provides a welcome opportunity for the Tigers to engage in a rematch with Boston, as well as to once again measure up against their regional competition.

Meanwhile, the open crew team will look to close out an undefeated season as it takes on Duke in its final meet before the Ivy League Championships. Last week, the Tigers pulled off a huge win over Penn to take the Class of 1984 Cup and extend their spring season’s win streak to eight meets. Competing in a format mirroring the NCAA championships, where the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four all counted toward the final result, Princeton’s boats finished just ahead of those of the Quakers in all three events. The closest race came in the second varsity eight, who finished their race in a time of 7:02.4, just under five seconds ahead of their competitors from Penn.

Sophomore Erica Swartwout commented on the significance of the victory.

“Competing for and winning the 1984 plaque as entire NCAA squad is a honor in and of itself,” she noted. “Most of the cups we compete for are dedicated to one particular boat race, so having a plaque that the 1v, 2v and A4 all compete for is truly special and really brings our team together. It reminds us that we all share the same goal — getting Princeton's colors across the finish line as fast as possible — and gives us additional motivation as we progress through the regular season and look towards Ivy Champs and NCAAs.”

In its final matchup before the Ivies, the open squad will take on a Duke team that took fifth place at the Princeton Chase in the fall and is coming off of a tied first-place finish with Notre Dame at the Dale England Cup last weekend. The Blue Devils currently stand just outside of the top 20 nationally, and should provide an interesting challenge to close out Princeton’s spring campaign on Senior Day.