Crew: Boats roll through competition at Princeton chase

The crew program performed well for the second week in a row at the Princeton 3-Mile Chase on Halloween. The heavyweight eight, men’s lightweight eight, open eight and open four all took first place in their divisions, and the program also claimed titles in the pair and double competitions.

The heavyweight eight race was the first event of the morning, and Princeton’s boat began in first, as is traditional for the defending champion.

“We had Columbia starting behind us, and they came on quite strongly in the first 1,000 meters,” sophomore Michael Evans explained. “Our race came to fruition in the second half.”

The heavyweight crew finished the race in 13 minutes, 6.187 seconds, edging out second-place Syracuse by two seconds.

The men’s lightweight eight was up next, also starting in first as the defending champions. They moved quickly through the first 2,000 meters, but rival Harvard, which started second, advanced toward Princeton’s bow.

“We actually knew that Harvard was winning at that point,” sophomore Tyler Nase explained.

But in the back half of the race, Princeton asserted control over the field and separated itself from both Harvard and Navy. The defending national champions finished in 13:17.687 to claim first place.

Although the lightweight men said they were glad to be on top for two weeks in a row, they continue to set high expectations for the future. “We know we need to train even harder,” Nase explained. “We still have vulnerabilities that we need to work on.”

The open crew faced a challenge that the heavyweight and lightweight men did not: It started third, behind Yale and University of Virginia, and had to fight through choppy water left by a steadily increasing crosswind.

“The beginning of the race was a little bit rough,” sophomore Astrid Wettstein explained. “There were some wakes, and it took us a little time to find our rhythm. Once we did that, it was pretty good.”

After finding its rhythm, the open crew was able to power through the race, eventually finishing in 14:22.518 and boasting a nearly 10-second margin of victory over second-place Virginia.

The open crew had raced the same lineup in its victory at the Head Of The Charles Regatta the previous weekend:

The lineup from stern to bow was senior Lauren Wilkenson, senior Michaela Strand, sophomore Molly Hamrick, Wettstein, sophomore Gabby Cole, junior Kelly Pierce, senior Emily Reynolds and senior Ashton Brown, with junior Lila Flavin as coxswain.

Princeton’s lightweight women also competed in the women’s eight competition, giving them a difficult matchup with a large number of elite open crews.

Though they faced difficult opponents of a different weight class, they managed to take 11th place in the heat of 45 boats.

The Princeton Chase also offered the athletes a chance to compete in smaller boats such as doubles, pairs and singles. Doubles and pairs both have two rowers, but doubles and singles are rigged for sculling, in which rowers hold one oar in each hand. This stands in contrast to the sweep style of rowing used in pairs, fours and eights, in which each rower holds only one oar with both hands.

Sophomore Brian Wettach, who rowed in the heavyweight eight as well as the heavyweight four and a double with sophomore Alex Taaffe, said he was glad to get an opportunity to compete in small boats.

“In collegiate rowing, the eight-man boat is the boat we usually compete in,” Wettach explained. “To break it down into smaller boats gives us a new chance to have a little bit of fun.”

Wettach and Taaffe took first in the double, and Evans and senior Blake Parsons, who also rowed in the heavyweight eight, took first in the pair.

The program is now finished with competition for the fall season. The crews will continue to train through the winter both on the water and off, but spring competition will not begin until the end of March.