In one of the most storied and competitive matchups the crew world features, the men's heavyweight crew lost its first race of the season against Ivy League rivals Harvard.
Though the Tigers were the higher seed, ranked No. 1 in the country going into Saturday's race on Lake Carnegie, the Crimson are the defending champions two times running. In a significant battle, Harvard topped Princeton in the first varsity race by more than six seconds. The Tigers clocked in with a time of five minutes, 54.6 seconds.
Though MIT also participated in the weekend's regatta, the contest everyone was focused on was the one between the two Ivies. MIT ultimately lost by a large margin in each.
Out of the block, it seemed like a close race. Princeton was in the lead by about three quarters of a boat length at the first quarter marker. The Crimson made its comeback in the second quarter of the race, evening it up by the halfway point. Unable to fend off Harvard's surge, the Tigers fell behind in the second half of the race and were unable to catch up.
Princeton's second varsity boat notched the lone victory for the Tigers, as the third varsity boat and the freshman boat both fell to the Crimson. The second varsity eight got out to a lead in the beginning of its race in a similar fashion to its first varsity counterparts. With the rowers looking back at the Harvard boat the entire race, they were able to maintain control through the finish line, recording a final time of 6:11.9.
"This will be a crucial week for us if we are going to get back on track," head coach Curtis Jordan said. "I still think this is a crew that can challenge for an Eastern Championship and National Championship."
This Saturday, Princeton will again row on friendly waters, hosting Yale and Cornell on Lake Carnegie.
Men's lightweight suffered defeats to both Cornell and Rutgers in Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday. In its first road trip of the season, the Tigers' first varsity boat lost to both Cornell and Rutgers by 14- and seven-second margins, respectively, finishing with a time of 6:07.2.
The second varsity boat finished second in its race, coming in 4.6 seconds behind the Big Red at a time of 6:07.9. The Scarlet Knights finished another 11.5 seconds behind.
The story of the men's lightweight team was the performance by the freshman eight. With a time of 6:02.4, Princeton's freshman team finished faster than Cornell's second varsity eight — who won its race — by 0.9 seconds. For those of you who will still be keeping track of men's lightweight during the 2008 season, the prognosis is very positive.
The Tigers will continue their road trip this Saturday when they visit Ivy League rival Penn.
Still No. 1
Improving to 7-0 this Saturday in New Haven, women's open remained undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country. The first varsity eight finished with a time of 6:17.1, 4.1 seconds ahead of Yale, to capture the Eisenberg Cup.
The second varsity eight lost to the Bulldogs by two seconds, recording a time of 6:22.9. The open varsity four also lost to Yale, finishing with a time of 7:27.8.
Looking to extend their Ivy League winning streak to 18 this Saturday, Princeton will travel to Hanover, N.H., to face Dartmouth and Penn.
Two weekends ago, the women's lightweight squad went 2-1 at the Windermere Classic, losing only to Wisconsin. On Saturday, the lightweight team was back and ready. Though they say that revenge is a dish best served cold, the Tigers wasted no time topping Wisconsin in the Knecht Cup last weekend. With a time of 6:46.7, the lightweight varsity eight finished only 1.4 seconds ahead of Wisconsin.
The team's success was not just on display in the win over Wisconsin, as the lightweight crews were also perfect this weekend. Along with the varsity eight, the novice eight, the varsity four and the varsity petite four were all victorious for Princeton. The novice eight finished with a time of 6:58.2, one second ahead of George Washington. The varsity four finished at 7:50.4, more than three seconds ahead of Wisconsin. The petite four finished with a time of 8:24.2, 11.7 seconds ahead of UMass.
After the outstanding performance last Saturday, the women's lightweight gets a week off next weekend in preparation for Radcliffe on April 30.
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