No. 1 ranked heavyweights ease by Rutgers

This weekend, men's heavyweight crew showed why it is ranked No. 1 in the country. The Tigers topped their local rival Rutgers in a resounding victory, finishing with nearly a 12-second advantage at Lake Carnegie on Saturday.

With the top ranking, Princeton goes into every race this season with the psychological edge. On Saturday, despite the rain and change of venue — the races were originially scheduled to take place at Rutgers — the first varsity boat showed tenacity in finishing with a time of five minutes, 40.6 seconds, 11.8 seconds ahead of their competitors. Despite the rain, this time was a full nine-second improvement over last weekend's effort, in which the Tigers defeated Navy. Though the rain would normally lengthen the time, tail currents and cross-tail winds Saturday helped the boats beat their previous week's times.

The men's heavyweights finished ahead of Rutgers in three out of the four races on the day. Princeton's second varsity boat finished in a time of 5:50.2, a full 13.5 seconds ahead of Rutgers' second boat.

The first freshman boat also had an impressive finish. With the time of 5:47.4, nearly three seconds faster than the second varsity boat, the future of Princeton's squad is bright. Saturday's win over Rutgers puts Princeton 2-0 on the season. Next weekend, the Tigers will travel to Philadelphia to meet Penn and look to carry the momentum from their home wins on the road.

Roaring past the Lions

In the first time back on the water after their loss two weekends ago, the men's lightweight team had an impressive showing against Columbia Saturday at Lake Carnegie. The first varsity boat defeated the Lions' varsity in a light race by only 1.4 seconds, coming in at 5:48.1.

The Lions showed themselves to be a formidable opponent in Saturday's lightweight races. In a fight to the finish, the first freshman boat finished 0.6 seconds ahead of their adversary, coming in with a time of 5:52.6.

The second varsity eight won with a more substantial lead. With a time of 6:01.4, the Tigers' second varsity eight finished 18 seconds ahead of Columbia's second varsity eight. The lightweights won all four races against Columbia, putting their record at 1-1 for the season. This weekend the Tigers will host Georgetown at Lake Carnegie, where they will look to take their momentum from last weekend to help convert the win.

Women dominate, too

Women's open crew also had a successful day. Like the men's heavyweights, women's open is ranked No. 1 in the country, and this Saturday, the Tigers were able to deliver the win despite the heavy rain at Lake Carnegie. Up against both Columbia and Rutgers, Princeton won by comfortable margins in both of the varsity eight races.

The first varsity boat finished with a time of 6:19.6, almost 18 seconds ahead of second-place Columbia. Having improved on the previous week's time of 6:33.2, the Tigers proved that the rain was a non-issue. The second varsity eight finished at 6:32.3. Princeton's novice eight lost by a slim margin to Columbia but topped Rutgers by more than 11 seconds.

In close races, the Tigers were able to pull out both of the varsity four races. Princeton's first varsity four finished with a time of 7:34.2, only 2.6 seconds ahead of Rutgers. The second varsity four finished with a time of 7:42.2, also 2.6 seconds ahead of Rutgers.

This weekend, the Tigers will be heading up to Cambridge, Mass., to compete against Harvard and Cornell.

Women's lightweight had last weekend off. This weekend they get to travel to Redwood Shores, Calif., where they will be racing both Saturday and Sunday in the Windermere Classic.