M., w. crew hit water, go oar-to-oar with tough foes

With one race out of the way, the open weight women's crew team still has a lot of work to do to follow up its huge victory last weekend.

Open weight crew commenced its season Saturday by dominating Brown and Michigan. This was no easy feat — the Wolverines' top varsity boat finished ninth at last year's National Collegiate Athletic Association finals, while the Bears, who were second in the nation last year, had not lost a dual race since 1997.

The Tigers will test themselves this Saturday when they travel to nearby New Brunswick, N.J., to take on both Rutgers and Columbia.

Previously these two teams had not posed too much of a threat to Princeton, who earned fifth place last year at the NCAA championships. Still, there's no way of knowing how they will measure against the Tigers this season.

"At this point, it's hard to tell the speed of other teams because it is too early in the season," open weight coach Lori Dauphiny said.

The Scarlet Knights already have one race under their belts, finishing behind Northeastern but ahead of Boston College last weekend. The Lions' top varsity race Saturday was cancelled because of a crash between Yale and Penn during warm-ups, according to the Columbia athletic web site.

For this Saturday's race, Princeton will have to adapt to the unusual Rutgers course.

"Instead of starting level, there is a staggered start due to two turns in the race course," Dauphiny said. "It can be difficult to know where you are in relation to the other crews."

Despite the tough course, the Tigers hope to follow up last week's triumph by adding one more to the W column.

Lightweight women's crew does not race this weekend. Next is the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J., April 12.

Solid beginnings

Last weekend, both the heavyweight and lightweight men's varsity crews sunk the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy with powerful rowing and an even more powerful thirst for victory. This weekend, both teams will look to build on the promising start of the previous week as they head into tough match-ups with Rutgers and Georgetown.

The heavyweight crew is coming off a weekend highlighted by a thrilling comeback victory over Navy in the Windmere Classic, held in Redwood Shores, Calif. Down by over a second and a half midway through the race, the Tigers refused to succumb to Navy's lead, and battled back in the third 500 meters to close to within .2 seconds, then passed the Midshipmen to claim victory.

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

The rest of the weekend was less successful for Princeton, as the Tigers fell to UC-Berkeley and Wisconsin, the top two crews in the nation last year. But the team felt good about the weekend's result, as the main goal of the trip was to triumph over the Midshipmen, and is optimistic heading into this weekend's race.

The opponent is Rutgers, in New Brunswick, NJ. Last year, the Tigers easily swept the Scarlet Knights on Lake Carnegie, with all three varsity boats winning easily. This year, while the race is on Rutgers' home course, the Tigers should expect similar domination.

The race with Rutgers is a stepping stone for the heavyweights, who must later face tougher Ivy League opponents including Penn, Columbia, Harvard, and Brown. To accomplish its season goals, which include a medal at Eastern Sprints and a berth in the grand finals at the National Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships, Princeton will need to dominate crews of Rutgers' caliber and pull out tough races against teams such as Navy, Harvard and Brown.

This weekend's race will thus be a chance for the Tigers to fine tune their technique and set a final lineup for the tougher season to come. The next month will strongly test Princeton's resolve as a team, and determine whether Lake Carnegie will be the home of a championship crew.

The lightweights dominated races against Columbia and Navy last weekend, cruising to victory on Lake Carnegie. No Princeton crew lost to either the Lions or the Midshipmen. In the varsity race, the Tigers emerged with an easy victory, despite an unfortunate crab. The other boats followed the varsity's example, dominating Navy's and Columbia's other crews.

This weekend, Georgetown will come to Lake Carnegie to face the Tigers. The lightweights expect an easy victory over the Hoyas, whom they edged by a margin of nearly 8 seconds last year. However, the Tigers must stay focused this weekend and use this race as a springboard for tougher competition later in the season.