Heavyweights row Navy out of water

When they weren't racing out of their weight class, the men's and women's crews were virtually flawless over the weekend. Even in a battle of David versus Goliath, the Tigers managed to hold their own.

The women's lightweight crew welcomed a new season Sunday with a solid performance in a losing effort against the Bucknell open program. The Bison, who did not have a lightweight crew to bring to Lake Carnegie, took the varsity races, while Princeton managed to pick up a strong win in the novice competition.

The Tigers' first varsity boat finished in seven minutes, 17.9 seconds, while Bucknell won the race in 7:07.0 and Princeton's second varsity unit came in at 7:22.6. The novice eight posted a winning time of 7:26.0 over the Bison.

Coming out of an intense preseason practice schedule, the men's heavyweight crew opened its season with a resounding victory over Navy on Saturday. Rowing at home, the defending Eastern Champions posted a time of 6:04.3 to take the win over the Midshipmen, who completed the 2,000-meter race in 6:18.6.

The early lead was never challenged by Navy, and the Tigers stroked to a full-boat-length lead by the 500-meter mark, continuing to extend their lead throughout the remainder of the race.

The Midshipmen took the second and third varsity eight races, while Princeton's freshman boat made its spring debut with a convincing, nearly 22-second margin of victory.

The men's lightweight crew also raced this weekend, continuing its recent string of success with hard-fought wins over both Georgetown and Columbia on Saturday morning at Lake Carnegie.

The Tigers improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season and secured the Fosburgh Cup by posting a winning time of 6:03.6 in the regatta, which outdid the second-place Hoyas by a little more than one second and Columbia by around six seconds.

The other races during the three-team meet were also fairly close. Luckily for the Tigers, they were able to leave with three wins. The second varsity won its competition by five full seconds after posting a time of 6:15.6. The novice eight also remained unbeaten by coming in at 6:18.5, ahead of Columbia's time of 6:24.1.

In New Brunswick, N.J., on Saturday, the open women's crew rounded out Princeton's weekend competition. The Tigers bounced back from their tough season opener by taking all four races in a sweep of Rutgers and Columbia. The first varsity eight won by posting a time of 6:28.6, with the Lions a distant second with a time of 6:44.9 and the Scarlet Knights taking third in 6:46.3.

The second varsity added an impressive win in 6:46.2, more than 12 seconds faster than Rutgers' second-place time. The Tigers' novice four won by more than 24 seconds over Columbia, and the Princeton freshmen, equally impressive, dominated the opposition by finishing in 7:47.1. Neither of the rookie boat's rivals finished in less than 8:12.

The Tigers also swept the varsity and junior varsity four races, finishing in 7:35.9 and 7:56.6, respectively.

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Looking ahead to this weekend, the men's heavyweight crew will compete in the Logg Cup on Saturday, making the short trip to Rutgers. The race will take place on the Raritan River.

That same day, the women's lightweight crew will take on some teams its own size — the lightweight programs of MIT and Central Florida. The women's open rowers will have another tough opponent on their hands when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., next weekend to race against host Cornell and Harvard.

The men's lightweights, meanwhile, will have a break from racing this weekend in preparation for their biggest test of the early season, which will take place in two weeks in Ithaca. Along with Rutgers, Princeton will take on the defending Eastern Sprint and International Rowing Association champion Big Red on Saturday, April 14. That will open a three-week run when Princeton will face four Ivy League opponents, including Harvard and Yale at Lake Carnegie on April 28.