Back in October, as fall midterms loomed just around the corner, Princeton's crew team headed up to Cambridge, Mass. for the Head of the Charles Regatta, where all four Tiger boats showed their strength and ability to win races. Now, with spring midterms coming to a close, the crew team is working harder than ever to keep up that level of excellence with its first race fast approaching.
The men's heavyweight crew team, led by head coach Curtis Jordan, won the Head of the Charles on a blustery day last fall. The Tigers were the first collegiate team to win the race since Navy did it in 1983. Winning the regatta in Boston raised expectations for the upcoming spring season.
National titles, team cups and Ivy League championships are the goals set out for the men and women who make the daily trek down to the boathouse. And with the season just starting up, all those goals seem reachable.
"I think it's clear to all of us that our expectations are very high, as they should be with this talent pool," Jordan said.
Led by a very strong senior class, the heavyweight team has a bull's eye on its back, but senior captain James Egan said the team doesn't mind.
"We always compete and seek to win in a humble and self-aware manner," Egan said. "We are not a crew that will overtly celebrate a win, but one that will use that momentum for the next week's training and race."
The men have been using their momentum from the fall season to get ready to dominate this spring. With a goal of sweeping the Eastern Sprints and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, the heavyweights have been putting in a lot of work. Though it may seem a lofty goal, it is certainly within reach for this group of talented individuals.
Women's open
The Princeton women's open crew team has goals similar to the men's heavyweights and a ranking to match.
After placing second at the Head of the Charles, ahead of all other collegiate competition, the Tigers will be ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll. Head coach Lori Dauphiny, while happy with the team's position, doesn't feel a high ranking is necessarily indicative of how the spring season will go.
"Preseason polls are for entertainment purposes," Dauphiny said. Part of Dauphiny's skepticism arises from the absence of last year's national champions, the University of California, Berkeley, from the Head of the Charles competition.
That said, the open crew team continues to work hard at realizing its goals of winning NCAAs, the team trophy at the Eastern Sprints and the Ivy League championship.
Senior captain Devan Darby agrees that the fall races cannot predict the spring, despite the Tigers' strong results.
"Once we meet up with Brown and Michigan in two weeks, we'll have a better gauge of our speed," Darby said.
Brown has a perennially quick boat, while Michigan — also nationally ranked— puts a lot of money and emphasis on its open crew team. Thus, the races against them will paint a good picture of whether the team's ambitious goals are achievable.
Women's lightweight
The other half of women's crew at Princeton is the lightweight team. Like the rest of the teams, the Tigers recorded an admirable finish at the Head of the Charles regatta. Finishing fourth in all competitions, Princeton was the second collegiate boat to cross the finish line, behind 2005 National Champion Wisconsin.This fall success creates a positive outlook for sweeping the Eastern Sprints and making a strong showing at IRAs.
A strong, extremely talented sophomore class helps to build what senior captain Kim Nakamaru calls the "deepest, most talented team in school history."
This exceptional level of talent combined with hard training on the ergs over the winter has the lightweight team ready to join the hunt for some championship titles.
"There has been a national championship draught for the last few years, and we're gunning to change that," Nakamaru said.
Men's lightweight
The lightweight men's team also placed in the top-10 at the Head of the Charles, taking third among collegiate teams. Nevertheless, senior Prentice Stabler knows the season will be a difficult one, with a highly competitive league schedule and tough opponents outside the league who do not suffer the trial of dealing with a seven week athletic moratorium in a year round sport.
The lightweight team also faces the unique challenge of a new coach this season after the resignation of Joe Murtaugh at the end of last season.
Greg Hughes '96 has taken up the mantle from Murtaugh, his former coach, after spending eight years coaching the freshman heavyweights and numerous other championship boats outside of the University. Hughes was a member of two national championship boats during his years as an undergraduate.
One of the changes that will come with the new coach is an infusion of younger rowers into the boats.
"We've got a great class of seniors who will have an impact, but they're going to have to rely on the impact of the classes below them to get it done," Hughes said.
The young team will get its first chance to show its mettle when it travels down to Annapolis, Md. to take on Navy on the last Saturday of spring break.
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