Defending National Champion Too Strong For Princeton

April 1, 2000

PRINCETON, N.J. - It's not easy for a team to begin its season against some of its toughest competition, but that is exactly how the Princeton women's open crew opens its spring racing schedule each year. Saturday morning on Lake Carnegie, seventh-ranked Princeton faced a formidable challenge in the top-ranked and reigning national champion Brown Bears. Coming off a dismantling of Yale last weekend, Brown posted another strong outing, winning the varsity, junior varsity, first novice, and second novice races. Princeton won the varsity four competition.

Brown sent nearly the same boat that won last year's NCAA Championship to the line for the varsity race, returning eight of nine varsity boat members. On the other hand, Princeton had two freshmen in its top boat who were racing in their first collegiate 2000 meter race. For about 1000 meters, it seemed as if Princeton might upset Brown, which arrived to the start late and looked unnerved in the opening meters of the race. Princeton flew off the start at around a 44 spm rating, rowing high, hard, and clean while pulling out to a six-seat lead after the first ten strokes. After 25 strokes when the Tigers settled into base cadence, they had established an eight-seat lead. Down nearly a full boat-length with 500 meters covered, Brown started to creep back into the race. In the second 500, Brown took five seats back from the Tigers, whose lead fell to four seats by the halfway 1000-meter marker. In the third 500, Brown continued to push into Princeton's lead at base cadence, rowing long and efficient strokes. Brown finally pulled level with 600 meters to go and Princeton seemed to have run out of gas in its effort to hold of the powerful Bear crew. Using the momentum gained from pulling level, Brown cruised out to an eight-seat lead with 500 meters to go. Princeton's sprint was courageous, but Brown continued to walk away and clocked in at 6:26.95, just over four seconds faster than Princeton. "Even though we were up for three-fourths of the race, I felt like Brown was dominating because they were continually pushing into our lead," said coxswain Katie Williams (Sr., Sarasota, Fla.). "We thought that if we could get out early we might be able to shock them. But they are a very experienced crew, and had a strong third 500."

Princeton's Varsity crew was composed of Williams, stroke Chrissy Lavdovsky (So., Victoria, B.C.), Sarah Cook (Sr., Boston, Mass.), Kristin Barges (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.), Sasha Suda (Fr., Toronto, Canada), Kate Phillips (So., Alexandria, Va.), Christina Hruska (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.), Lia Pernell (Fr., Seattle, Wash.), and bow Kristen Bartholdson (Sr., Malvern, Pa.).

In the junior varsity race, the two crews fought it out in a head-to-head battle off the start and were dead even at 500 meters down. Brown used a devastating move at about 1:45 down to take an eight-seat lead on the Tigers and they never looked back. The Brown crew led by a length at the 1000, and continued to press into the third 500 while extending their lead. With 500 meters to go, the Bears led by 1.5 lengths of open water, and they won the race by just under two lengths open water over Princeton.

Princeton snagged their lone victory in the varsity four race. After what began as a very tight race among the leaders, the Princeton A boat steadily walked away from the Brown A boat, and won the race with one length of open water. The Princeton B boat finished third, defeating the Brown B boat by just over one length of open water.

The first novice race followed suit with the three varsity races as it was dead even after 500 meters of racing. Brown began to move away in the second 500, and led by five seats at the 1000. The Bears once again seemed to reach an extra gear during the third 500, and with 750 meters to go they had cracked open water on the Princeton crew. Brown used a composed final 500 to extend its lead, and finished with one length of open water over Princeton.

In the second novice race, Brown defeated Princeton by 1 3/4 boat-lengths of open water.

NOTE: Princeton and Brown also raced a novice/junior varsity lightweight boat at the completion of the open regatta. Princeton led by two seats off the start, and was challenged by Brown only during the first 500 meters. One length up by the 1000, Princeton won by just under two lengths of open water.

Conditions: sunny, 60's, light tailwind of variable intensity.

Women's Open

First Varsity Brown 6:26.95 Princeton 6:31.35

Second Varsity Brown 6:40.56 Princeton 6:51.71

Varsity Four Princeton A 7:40.35 Brown A 7:44.81 Princeton B 7:47.08 Brown B 7:52.11

First Novice Brown 6:48.04 Princeton 6:55.70

Second Novice Brown 7:17.00 Princeton 7:23.38

Lightweight Novice/Junior Varsity Princeton 6:59.18 Brown 7:08.84

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