With visions of Rudy Ruddiger dancing in their heads, the Princeton men's varsity crew teams ascended to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., this weekend looking to shock the rowing world. Like Rudy, the famous Notre Dame underdog, the Tigers would try to defy all expectations at Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships, and defeat the more powerful, favored crews that had vanquished the Tigers earlier in the season.
Princeton had plenty of motivation entering the races this weekend. The rowers had trained all year, first indoors on the dreaded ergometer machines and then on the water in rain, wind, and cold, attempting to find that elusive, electric combination of rowers that would bring a championship back to the Princeton boathouse on Lake Carnegie.
They had the history and prestige of the Princeton program behind them, as the two varsities have combined to win 15 EARC titles between them. And they had the added motivation of recent losses to most of the crews they would be racing in the finals, offering an opportunity for revenge in the season's biggest moment thus far.
Upset special
As it turned out, one Princeton crew did produce an upset special. The varsity lightweights, having pulled a five seed behind Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown, raced from the sixth lane. Not expected to win a medal after losses earlier in the season to Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown, the Tigers raced with the fearlessness of a crew with nothing to lose and looking to pull off an upset.
"I felt like we needed to get out early because I knew there were six fast boats in the final," said Princeton coach Joe Murtaugh. "The races where we haven't fared well in, we didn't have a good first 1,000 meters. We had a good first 1,000 meters today."
The race saw the underdog Tigers grab a lead and hold it for the rest of the race. When they crossed the finish line a boat length ahead of No. 1 seed Columbia, the upset was complete. With victory came revenge for their home loss to Georgetown in the early season and their disappointing third place finish last week in the Harvard-Yale-Princeton regatta.
'Heart and passion'
"The guys raced with a lot of heart and passion," Murtaugh said. "When they get a lead, it's hard to take it away from them."
The varsity was not the only crew to find success on Saturday. The second varsity also won the grand final, narrowly defeating Yale by one half of a second. And the freshman eight finished second to Navy, defeating all of its Ivy League rivals.
The championship Joseph Wright Trophy marks the lightweight program's 13th overall Eastern Sprints title. It is the first Princeton win since 1999.
The lightweights will now look ahead to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on May 29, where Princeton will have a chance to turn its success last weekend into a national title. Yale, who came in fourth this weekend at Eastern Sprints, is the defending national champion.
The heavyweight varsity was also looking to pull an upset in Worcester, as it entered the regatta off consecutive losses to Brown, Cornell, and Harvard. But a win was not in the cards for the Tiger varsity, as the crew failed to qualify for the grand final and finished fourth in the lesser petite finals.
Newsworthy
The big story of the day for the heavyweights was the triumph of the first freshman eight. The freshman dominated the grand final, beating Harvard by over six seconds to take the championship. The Tigers crossed the finish line with a time of 6:14.11, easily beating Harvard's mark of 6:20.32.
The freshman have had a very successful season, providing a bright spot for the program in what was a down year for the first varsity.
The second varsity crew placed second in its grand final, also dueling with Harvard but eventually losing to the Crimson by four seconds.
In other novice action, the men's second eight came in third with a time of 6:45.83. In other varsity action, the third varsity eight placed fourth with a time of 6:39.48.
The heavyweights will also train for the IRA Championships in three weeks. The varsity will look to redeem itself and build some momentum to carry the crew to the off-season and into next year.
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