The two Princeton women's crew teams have opposite goals this weekend: one hopes to preserve the status quo, the other hopes for an upset against several higher-ranked crews. Despite the different goals, this weekend promises to bring close races for both teams.
Both the lightweight and open weight women are currently preparing for the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges Sprints, to take place this Saturday in Camden, N.J.
Ranked No. 6 in the nation entering Sprints, the open top varsity boat will face its biggest challenges in No. 3 Brown and No. 5 Harvard/Radcliffe.
It looks to be anyone's race in Camden. The Bears, the Crimson and the Tigers are ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the EAWRC. What the rankings don't reveal, however, is the strange triangle of victories and defeats among these three teams. In Princeton's season opener, the top varsity boat finished ahead of Brown for the first time in six years. Two weeks later, the Tigers suffered their only defeat of the season to Radcliffe. Finally, a little over two weeks ago, the Bears downed the Crimson to secure the league's top seed entering Sprints.
Competition among these three crews should be intense. But also not to be overlooked is the EAWRC's No. 4 team, Yale. The Elis narrowly lost to Princeton in mid-April and put up a strong fight against Radcliffe as well. And with no first varsity crew left undefeated, anything can happen.
Damage crews
As for the rest of the races, the Tigers seem in good position to do some damage. For the Princeton second varsity boat, the challenge will be simply to prevent an upset. Undefeated this season, this Tiger boat is not surprisingly ranked No. 1 in the EAWRC going into Sprints. Brown and Harvard, at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, will attempt to avenge earlier losses to Princeton.
In the Novice Eight race, the No. 2-ranked Tiger boat will seek to pull out a victory over No. 1 Brown. The second novice eights are ranked No. 4, but a strong race from Princeton could prove the rankings wrong.
With so many teams clustered at the top, it is hard to predict who will leave Camden with the open weight league championship. Still, count on the Tigers to push themselves so they can improve on last year's fourth-place performance at Sprints. With a solid showing, Princeton should easily claim a bid to the NCAA finals in Indianapolis, Ind., beginning May 30.
Domination
The lightweight side of the picture looks pretty rosy for the Tigers, consistent with their dominant history since they began competing in 1998. The top varsity boat remains undefeated on the season. Ranked No. 1 both in the nation and in the EAWRC polls, Princeton is clearly the team to beat this year.
The Tigers' success, however, comes at the expense of Radcliffe, which will be out for blood. In all likelihood, the league championship will come down to these two teams. Princeton has managed to frustrate the Crimson three times this season — first at the Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic, then in the grand finals of the Knecht Cup, and finally April 19 on Lake Carnegie. All three races have been nail-biters. The margins of victory have been 2.1, .4 and 1.4 seconds, respectively — little more than a few seats' difference.
If the Tigers can hold off Radcliffe for a fourth time, the rest of the field should not pose a great threat to another Princeton EAWRC title. Wisconsin, one spot behind the No. 2 Crimson, has not raced the Tigers particularly closely yet this season — it finished almost 10 seconds back of both Princeton and Radcliffe at the Knecht Cup. The rest of the pack would have to show radical improvement to come close to the top two.
Still, the expected showdown will make for an exciting race. Everyone else will be looking to topple the front-runners, and the Crimson in particular will push for those few seats they need to overcome their rivals. If all goes according to the Tigers' plan, though, they will defend last year's victory at Sprints and once again go into nationals with the momentum from league championships.
The lightweight Tigers' final test after Sprints will be the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. They have brought home the national title from this event every year since 1999.
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