Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Crews Set Sights On National Titles In Camden, Indianapolis
May 29, 2003 | Women's Rowing - Open
May 29, 2003
The final crew weekend opens Thursday at Cooper River in Camden, N.J., and concludes at Eagle Park in Indianapolis, Ind., on Sunday. Four teams, including two ranked atop their respective national polls, will look to conclude highly successful seasons with national championships.
The IRA national championships for the men's heavyweight, men's lightweight and women's lightweight crews will be determined at Cooper River, while the women's open crew will compete for an NCAA title at Eagle Park. The IRAs will be completed on Saturday, while the NCAA championship race will take place on Sunday.
Here is a team-by-team look at the weekend:
Women's Open
This is the seventh running of the NCAA championships for women's open crew, and in each of the last five years, Princeton has raced in the grand final. The Tigers have yet to see the medal stand, though, placing fourth once (1999), fifth twice (2001, 2002) and sixth twice (1998, 2000). Princeton comes into the weekend fourth in the country and placed second at the EAWRC Sprints two weekends ago, finishing just behind Harvard. The Crimson has defeated Princeton twice this season, including in a regular-season race by 2.6 seconds. The Tigers have shown to be in the elite of the east, topping defending Eastern champion Brown twice this season.
Washington is the two-time defending national champion.
Women's Lightweight
Princeton. Harvard.
Princeton. Harvard.
Princeton. Harvard.
Princeton. Harvard.
That has been the order of the first two boats in four of Princeton's six races, including each of the last three. The Tigers have won by as many as 2.72 seconds (EAWRC Sprints) and by as little as .4 of a second (Knecht Cup). In all likelihood, the national championship, which Princeton has won each of the last four years, will once again come down to a dual between No. 1 Princeton and No. 2 Harvard.
This will be the third meeting between the two boats on Cooper River. Ironically enough, the two previous meetings, the EAWRC Sprints and the Knecht Cup, have provided both the largest and smallest finishing gaps between the two boats.
Men's Heavyweight
Princeton has won three IRA national championships, including its most recent title in 1998, and placed second in the 2001 grand final. Repeating such success will be a tall order for Princeton this season, which failed to reach the grand final of the Eastern Sprints and dropped three Ivy League races during the season. A strong performance at Cooper River, where Princeton has plenty of successful experiences to draw on, could make plenty of early-season disappointments go away.
While the top varsity boat will be an underdog, Princeton's top freshman boat is coming off a dominating performance in winning the Eastern Sprints championship by six seconds and will look to finish off a perfect season with a win at IRAs.
California has won four straight national championships.
Men's Lightweight
Potentially the most intriguing race for Princeton could come for the men's lightweight crew, which jumped from the fifth to first in the national rankings by winning the Eastern Sprints last weekend. After finishing its regular season by losing a regatta to both Harvard and Yale, the Tigers topped both and No. 1 Columbia to claim the Ivy League championship at Eastern Sprints. Princeton also defeated Georgetown in that race, a team that picked up a win over the Tigers during the regular season.
Yale is the defending national champion. Princeton has medalled in three of the last five grand finals, including a first-place finish in 1998.