Brown dominates heavyweights

Though the weather was sunny and the water was smooth, the going was rough for the men's heavyweight crew as it raced Brown for the 14th annual Content Cup held this Saturday morning on Lake Carnegie. The Brown Bears won all five races to take home the overall victory.

"Yes, we're disappointed," head coach Curts Jordan said. "But Brown is a really good squad. They're really deep, and they've had a couple of building years. This is supposed to be a big year for them, but at the same time we expected to do better, especially in our first varsity and first freshman."

These teams are now 7-7 in Content Cup races. Last year, the Tigers won the Cup when they prevailed in the first varsity eight's race, speeding to the finish line five seconds before the Bears.

This year has provided a particularly intense rivalry between the two teams, as they are both ranked near the top of every collegiate poll. In the current USRowing Collegiate poll, the Tigers' varsity eight is ranked No. 6, while the Bears' is ranked No. 7. In the latest Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) heavyweight poll, Princeton's varsity eight is ranked No. 3 and Brown's squad is No. 4.

The race between the first varsity eight boats was the tightest of the morning. Brown sped out to an early lead of about one boat length, and the Bears maintained that lead for the rest of the race.

"Princeton tried to make several charges back into them, but Brown did a good job of repelling those attacks," Jordan said.

The Tigers ultimately lagged 3.1 seconds behind the Bears at the finish line.

The margin was not so small for the other varsity boats. Princeton's second varsity eight finished 22.1 seconds after the Brown boat, and the varsity four passed the finish line after both Brown boats, 32.1 seconds behind the first-place finish.

These results could be expected, as Brown's second varsity boat is ranked the best in the EARC, while Princeton's team ranks ninth. In the same poll, Brown's freshman eight holds the No. 2 spot while Princeton is ranked fifth.

The Tigers' freshman eight — a boat holding six members of the 2005 and 2006 Junior National Team — came out to an early lead of about three-quarters of a length. The Brown Bears came from behind in the last 500 meters, however, to win by a 3.6 second margin.

"It was a tough loss," freshman Chris Courtin said. "Hopefully we can finish stronger and take the win next weekend at the Easter Sprints."

Princeton's freshman four also lost, passing the last buoy 5.9 seconds after Brown's boat.

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The Brown Bears swept the races, and Jordan is ready to hand them some credit.

"I think Brown did a great job of preparing and racing against us," Jordan said. "Our goal now is to better our performance next week at the Easterns."

At the Eastern Sprints next weekend in Worcester, Mass., the heavyweights will face serious competition from other area colleges in their quest to take home the Rowe Cup. The Tigers will look to reverse their momentum from this weekend and defend their championship title from last year's race.

They will face many of the teams they have raced earlier in the season at Easterns, including Brown and other Ivy League foes. Princeton will have to fight harder than it did this weekend, but the squad is experienced and ready for the challenge.

"We had a rough day today — we did not race as well as we should have — but we will definitely be ready next Saturday," Courtin said. "This loss doesn't change that. If anything, it makes us hungrier for a big win at Sprints."