The No. 1 women’s lightweight team easily dominated MIT, finishing in seven minutes, 14.9 seconds, while the Engineers came in at 7:36.8. This marks the Tiger lightweights’ fourth win in as many races.
Later in the morning, the No. 5 1Vopen boat built on their momentum from last week’s upset victory over Brown, defeating Columbia and Rutgers in the first varsity race. The four other open boats also won their races, pulling ahead by an average margin of 26 seconds.
This was the Tiger lightweights’ second matchup with MIT in two weeks. Princeton’s 1V team outpaced the Engineers by a solid 50 seconds last Saturday at the Pac-10 Challenge in California, so the Tigers’ victory this weekend was not unexpected. Saturday, the second varsity team got its chance to challenge MIT, winning with a time of 7:50.8. The Engineers’ novice eight finished 33 seconds later.
Both boats, however, brought specific technical goals to their races to make up for the relaxed competition.
“Our goal against MIT was to have a sharp and clean race ? the focus was internal,” senior captain Caroline English said. “There were also moments in California when we got an early lead but did not extend it. This week, we steadily walked away from the opposing boat, never giving the Engineers a chance to recover open water.”
The Tigers’ open women faced tougher competitors, as the 1V crew completed the course in 7:02.8, followed by Columbia’s 7:08.5 finish and Rutgers’ 7:30.8. The opposing teams, though, were no match for Princeton’s other crews. Columbia fielded 2V and varsity four boats that could not topple the Tiger teams they faced ? Princeton finished in 7:32.1 and 8:33.2, respectively. The Tigers’ novice boats defeated opponents from Rutgers, as the novice eight posted a time of 7:27.9 and the novice four a 9:05.3.
Though the open women have already competed on Lake Carnegie this season, the lightweights were happy to race at home for the first time this spring. It was nice to enjoy a home-course advantage after facing Stanford on the Cardinal’s water last Saturday.
“Each rower has every detail of the course memorized after miles and miles rowed in practice,” English said of the Lake Carnegie course. “The only downside is that the finish line is three miles away from campus, so the student fan base can be very weak.”
Should any Princeton student interpret this comment as a personal jab, he or she will have to wait two weeks for another opportunity to cheer on the top-ranked women’s crews. The open women travel north next weekend to compete against No. 12 Harvard and Cornell on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.
Princeton’s men’s and women’s lightweight teams competed on the Charles during the Head of the Charles regatta in the fall, but it will be the open women’s first visit to Cambridge this school year. The Tigers will return to Lake Carnegie on April 19 to race No. 1 Yale and No. 7 Tennessee.
The women’s lightweights will face the University of Central Florida, a new opponent, in Florida this weekend. Afterward, Princeton will host key competitors at home as the lightweights fight to defend their No. 1 slot.
“We will face our toughest competition the last three weeks of the semester with home races against Georgetown, Harvard and Wisconsin,” English said.
Despite the upcoming challenges, English and her teammates remain determined to succeed.
“If we continue to prepare physically and mentally,” English said, “I think our crews have a shot at making 2008 the best season anyone on the team has seen.”
Certainly, their perfect start is a step in the right direction.
It’s not surprising that a Princeton team would aim for no less than perfection, though only the most dedicated squads of athletes can produce the results. But even before the undefeated No. 2 women’s lacrosse team began play Saturday, two other Tiger teams had already maintained perfect season records for another weekend.
The No. 1 women’s lightweight team easily dominated MIT, finishing in seven minutes, 14.9 seconds, while the Engineers came in at 7:36.8. This marks the Tiger lightweights’ fourth win in as many races.
Later in the morning, the No. 5 1Vopen boat built on their momentum from last week’s upset victory over Brown, defeating Columbia and Rutgers in the first varsity race. The four other open boats also won their races, pulling ahead by an average margin of 26 seconds.
This was the Tiger lightweights’ second matchup with MIT in two weeks. Princeton’s 1V team outpaced the Engineers by a solid 50 seconds last Saturday at the Pac-10 Challenge in California, so the Tigers’ victory this weekend was not unexpected. Saturday, the second varsity team got its chance to challenge MIT, winning with a time of 7:50.8. The Engineers’ novice eight finished 33 seconds later.
Both boats, however, brought specific technical goals to their races to make up for the relaxed competition.
“Our goal against MIT was to have a sharp and clean race ? the focus was internal,” senior captain Caroline English said. “There were also moments in California when we got an early lead but did not extend it. This week, we steadily walked away from the opposing boat, never giving the Engineers a chance to recover open water.”
The Tigers’ open women faced tougher competitors, as the 1V crew completed the course in 7:02.8, followed by Columbia’s 7:08.5 finish and Rutgers’ 7:30.8. The opposing teams, though, were no match for Princeton’s other crews. Columbia fielded 2V and varsity four boats that could not topple the Tiger teams they faced ? Princeton finished in 7:32.1 and 8:33.2, respectively. The Tigers’ novice boats defeated opponents from Rutgers, as the novice eight posted a time of 7:27.9 and the novice four a 9:05.3.
Though the open women have already competed on Lake Carnegie this season, the lightweights were happy to race at home for the first time this spring. It was nice to enjoy a home-course advantage after facing Stanford on the Cardinal’s water last Saturday.
“Each rower has every detail of the course memorized after miles and miles rowed in practice,” English said of the Lake Carnegie course. “The only downside is that the finish line is three miles away from campus, so the student fan base can be very weak.”
Should any Princeton student interpret this comment as a personal jab, he or she will have to wait two weeks for another opportunity to cheer on the top-ranked women’s crews. The open women travel north next weekend to compete against No. 12 Harvard and Cornell on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.
Princeton’s men’s and women’s lightweight teams competed on the Charles during the Head of the Charles regatta in the fall, but it will be the open women’s first visit to Cambridge this school year. The Tigers will return to Lake Carnegie on April 19 to race No. 1 Yale and No. 7 Tennessee.
The women’s lightweights will face the University of Central Florida, a new opponent, in Florida this weekend. Afterward, Princeton will host key competitors at home as the lightweights fight to defend their No. 1 slot.
“We will face our toughest competition the last three weeks of the semester with home races against Georgetown, Harvard and Wisconsin,” English said.
Despite the upcoming challenges, English and her teammates remain determined to succeed.
“If we continue to prepare physically and mentally,” English said, “I think our crews have a shot at making 2008 the best season anyone on the team has seen.”
Certainly, their perfect start is a step in the right direction.
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