Crews make good showing at Sprints

“Yale got off the line pretty quick, so we spent a lot of time chasing down other crews,” senior captain Taylor Washburn said of the men’s lightweights’ race. “We didn’t have the same pop that we normally do, and you just have to give credit to Cornell for having such a gutsy race and handling the conditions better.”

On the Cooper River in New Jersey, the women’s lightweights went down to the wire with a tight finish against defending Sprints champion Wisconsin. In the end, the Tigers crossed the line in 6:42.12 for second, just .78 seconds behind the Badgers. Princeton and Wisconsin are two of the country’s dominant programs, and both out-paced third-place Georgetown by more than seven seconds. The women’s open crew finished its grand final in 6:31.11, good for fourth place behind Radcliffe’s 6:30.55.

Eastern Sprints is an experience unlike the small-scale regular-season dual meets. Teams first race in the morning’s preliminary heats, and qualifying teams move on to the afternoon’s grand finals, based on which medals are awarded. All of Princeton’s 1V boats made it to this most competitive race, but the program showed true depth in that its other teams also competed at the top of the league. Each of the men’s lightweight and heavyweight crews qualified for their grand finals, as did the open women’s novice eight, varsity four and novice four boats. Preliminary races were not held for lightweight women.

Among the heavyweights, the freshman eight stood out with its second-place finish. The win went to Harvard’s freshmen — the Tigers’ only loss during the regular season — who edged Princeton 5:57.64 to 5:58.65. The open women’s novice eight also showed promise, taking the silver in its event with a time of 6:49.98. The Tigers’ N4 women placed third in the grand final just behind Columbia and Penn, and the V4 finished fifth in its race. The men’s lightweight 2V team took fourth with a time of 6:18.33, while the heavyweight 2V, 3V and lightweight freshmen each finished sixth in their races. Though the open women’s 2V did not make the grand finals, it won the petite finals by 10 seconds in 6:48.28.

But aside from the competition, the thing that really sets Sprints apart for rowers is the presence of the incredible Princeton camaraderie. Tiger athletes, parents and alumni show up en force to support the crews, giving this regatta a different sort of spirit.

“We’re all kind of separate teams, but we came together and supported each other,” freshman lightweight Lauren Sykora said. “Seeing everyone so excited, even the parents and alumni … seeing all that Princeton pride come out was so much fun.”