W. open crew hosts Rutgers, Columbia

Although the five days of April showers forecasted to ring in the new month will keep most of us holed up inside, women's crew will be out on the water, as usual this weekend.

The open novices did exceptionally well last weekend against Brown and Ohio State, while the varsity squad turned in its rendition of Jekyll and Hyde. The Tigers opened the weekend by taking down No. 1 Brown, turning in a time of six minutes, 30.8 seconds as compared to the Bears' 6:32.8. Unfortunately for Princeton, however, the team could not hold off the dark horse, No. 9 Ohio State. The Buckeyes snuck ahead of both Brown and Princeton, turning in a 6:26.2 time that was good enough for first place.

The open women's team has a chance to pull in a win this weekend as it faces off against Rutgers and Columbia at home. This weekend might provide the opportunity to achieve just that. In the US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches' preseason poll the Tigers claimed the No. 3 spot while neither Columbia nor Rutgers made the top 20.

The Scarlet Knights' open team comes off a victory in its first competition. Rutgers' varsity squad beat George Washington head-to-head last Friday by more than five seconds.

The second varsity team was also successful, beating the Colonials' second varsity boat by a time of 6:34.5 to 6:46.5 performance.

Although Columbia has not cracked the top 20 in national rankings, the Lions opened their season with a successful showing at the Connell Cup race on Philadelphia's Schuylkill River. Columbia finished only 8.8 seconds behind Yale, one of the nation's top-five teams.

Lightweight women have a rest this weekend after their phenomenal performance at the Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic in Redwood Shores, Cali. The six-hour flight was worth it, as the Tigers returned home with a victory over the top-ranked Radcliffe boat.

Looking ahead, the varsity lightweight women have the prestigious Knecht Cup on April 10th and 11th. This tournament, held in Camden, N.J., features several teams and has been a successful weekend for the Tigers in the past. Many members of the team enjoy racing the course because of its familiarity; both the annual league and sprint championships are held there every year.

The novice lightweight women are also gearing up for their first race against Georgetown on April 10th.

In preparation for this race, the Tigers' training, already progressing at a grueling pace, has been stepped up a notch.

"We are training pretty hard through this weekend and probably into the beginning of next week in preparation," freshman Caitlin Corr said. "We are doing a lot of pieces on the water and then on this Saturday morning we have an erg test."