Princeton's men's and women's crews travel to different locations this Sunday for their respective Eastern Sprints regattas, but when all is said and done, they hope to end up in the same place — atop all of their competitors. The men's lightweight and heavyweight teams will race on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) Championships, while the women's lightweight and open squads will row on the Cooper River in Camden for the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges (EAWRC) Championships.
After suffering its only loss of the season earlier this year against Harvard, the men's heavyweight team knows that the best revenge would be to win the national title. The Crimson, who won the EARC battle last year, is the favorite after completing an undefeated regular season, but the Tigers are still confident in their chances against them.
Men's lightweight has had a rough season this year, but it hopes it will surprise opponents by gaining success from an underdog position. Navy, which looks to defend its championship, is favored to win once again.
Coming off an undefeated regular season, women's open is going into EAWRC Championships as the undisputed team to beat. Princeton hopes to repeat as national champion in this event, having completed last season with an unblemished record as well.
After achieving the No. 1 ranking, women's lightweight hopes to live up to that billing. Last season the Tigers' two-year hold over the national title was relinquished to Radcliffe by more than a three-second margin.