Lightweight women leave Hoyas in wake

No one felt the heat as much as No. 3 Georgetown.

The lightweights swept the competition as each of the three boats claimed victories. The 1V crew finished in six minutes, 58.4 seconds, its fastest time this season, dominating the Hoyas by 10 seconds. The 2V and V4 crews followed suit, pulling strong for wins that sealed the lightweights’ perfect day.

The No. 4 open women were not as lucky Saturday at Lake Carnegie, and Princeton’s varsity boats fell to stiff competition despite the optimal weather. The 1V teams raced down to the wire, but the Tigers ultimately finished in third behind No. 2 Yale and No. 12 Tennessee. The Bulldogs claimed the Eisenberg Cup with a time of 6:38.1, followed by the Lady Volunteers at 6:40.4, who edged the Tigers by just .1 seconds. Princeton’s 2V team also finished third to the visiting teams, posting a time of 7:07.4.

As for the lightweights, this win was a crucial confidence builder as the team begins the most challenging part of its regular season. Georgetown returned a strong crew to Saturday’s regatta after proving itself as a top contender last season. The Hoyas finished third at Eastern Sprints last May, just behind Princeton. Even so, the Tigers’ respect for such a strong rival enabled them to succeed.

“We had prepared all week for a close race, and I think this high level of preparation helped enable the large margin,” senior captain Caroline English said. “This race offered us the chance to set our pace against a tough competitor, and as a result, we were very solid.”

Princeton was not only thrilled with the varsity boat’s performance, but also by the 2V’s and V4’s strong finishes.

“With such depth, Princeton is always looking to win with every boat out on the water. That said, it is difficult to pull off a sweep,” English said. “This is the message that we want to send going into our toughest races against Radcliffe [Harvard] and Wisconsin.”

Heavyweights fall in Mass., lightweights upset Cornell

Two weeks after the men’s heavyweight crew narrowly edged No. 5 Harvard by two seconds at the Copley Cup in San Diego, the Crimson returned the favor by besting No. 3 Princeton by just half a second at the Compton Cup Saturday in Cambridge, Mass.

The Tigers contested the Compton Cup on the Charles River in 2006 as well, and that crew became the first group of Princetonians in almost 50 years to defeat Harvard on its home waters. This year, Princeton came close but could not quite edge its traditional rival, crossing the finish line in 5:40.6, just behind Harvard’s 5:40.1 and considerably ahead of third-place MIT, which finished in 6:04.0.

Princeton’s 2V, 3V and first novice boats also finished second in their respective races, with Harvard taking first in each instance. The 2V boat completed the course in 5:59.1, while the 3V boat crossed the line at 6:21.0. The first novice boat finished in 6:01.3, a promising time that trailed the 2V by only two seconds.

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Men’s lightweight crew fared better Saturday morning in the Platt Cup on Lake Carnegie, where it defeated No. 1 Cornell in exciting fashion. No. 4 Princeton crossed the finish line in 5:54.0, just ahead of the Big Red’s 5:58.4.

It was a tremendous accomplishment for the lightweight rowers, as Cornell is the two-time defending national champion and is arguably the best crew in the nation.

In the day’s other races, the Tigers proved that they have the skills to stand up to anyone in the country. The 2V boat, finishing with a time of 6:07.3, fell three seconds short of its counterparts, but Princeton rowed past Cornell in both the 3V and first novice races. The Tigers’ 3V and first novice boats crossed the line in 6:14.0 and 6:07.1, respectively.