Women’s openweight rowing sees an undefeated weekend at Cornell

The No. 5 women’s openweight rowing team traveled to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. this past weekend and returned with their seventh consecutive Class of 1975 Cup and an undefeated regatta against Radcliffe, Cornell, Bucknell, and Wisconsin.

The first varsity eight, coxed by junior Hannah Diaz and stroked by junior Lydia Rosen, had an open-water victory (6:26.062), finishing almost 22 seconds ahead of second-place Bucknell, who finished in 6:48.038. Radcliffe finished in 6:51.660 and Cornell finished in 6:59.970, with the latter being a whole 33 seconds behind the Tigers. Princeton’s win over Cornell gave them their seventh Class of 1975 Cup in a row.

“We’re very happy to retain the Class of 1975 Cup; as the first [class of] women rowers at Princeton, the class of ’75 is very special and inspiring to us,” junior Camille Vandermeer of the first varsity eight told The Daily Princetonian.

The second varsity eight kept up the momentum as they finished in 6:42.020, with Radcliffe (6:54.746), Cornell (7:04.229), and Bucknell (7:09.757) trailing behind. The 3V was not an exception as they achieved victory in 6:56.050, with Radcliffe and Cornell finishing behind them in 7:19.373 and 7:23.701, respectively.

For the fours, the first varsity boat finished in 7:26.000, with Radcliffe (7:39.230), Cornell (7:44.301), and Bucknell (7:45.830) behind them. The second varsity four saw Princeton finish in 7:27.032, Radcliffe in 7:45.155, Cornell in 7:52.369, and Bucknell in 8:36.541.

Princeton also faced off against Wisconsin in separate races that day, and the Tigers managed to keep their winning streak going. For the first race, the varsity eight finished 6:36.090, with Wisconsin falling almost 20 seconds behind at 6:55.375. The second and third varsity eight also raced together against Wisconsin; the Princeton 2V placed first with a time of 6:48.070, Wisconsin came second in 7:05.9777, and the Princeton 3V finished third with a time of 7:07.334.

As for the varsity fours race between the two schools, the Princeton 1V placed first in 7:28.000, the Princeton 2V placed second with a time of 7:35.900, and Wisconsin placed third in 7:41.500.

Besides being undefeated against this weekend’s teams, the openweights have continued an undefeated season overall. As of April 6, the Tigers are ranked No. 5 in the nation, behind Texas, Yale, Cal, and Stanford.

“It was a great benchmark to be able to race more teams this past weekend, and it gives us an idea of the work we have to put in going forward as we gear up for the Ivy Championships and NCAAs,” Rosen told the ‘Prince.’ “It seems like our team is really coming together and making great progress.”

The Tigers will be in New Haven, Conn. this Saturday, April 16, to compete against Yale for the Eisenberg Cup.

Lizzie Evanko is an Associate Sports Editor at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at eevanko@princeton.edu.