Princeton University Athletics
California Dreamin' - Women's Crew Visits Sacramento With NCAA Title In Sight
May 26, 2005 | Women's Rowing - Open
May 26, 2005
SACRAMENTO - The Princeton open crew is one of four programs to receive an NCAA invitation every year since the event began in 1997. The 2005 squad, one of its deepest and most talented, will look to earn Princeton its first NCAA title this weekend in Sacramento, Calif.
The Tigers ended the 2005 regular season with a perfect 11-0 mark and were ranked atop the national polls. Eastern Sprints changed things, as the first varsity boat fell to Yale by 2.4 seconds. Now, Princeton will enter the NCAA championships as the fourth-ranked team, although it is still a contender for the top prize.
"Eastern Sprints was obviously disappointing," head coach Lori Dauphiny said, "but at the same time, there's another race. It was a mixed day, since the 2V had a spectacular race. The 1V raced well, but Yale was faster.
"We're certainly excited to meet up with the top crews in the country this weekend."
The NCAA championships awards two titles, one to the fastest 1V boat and one to the winner of the team title. There are 12 teams in the running for the team crown, which goes to the program with the best combined finish of a 1V, 2V and varsity 4. The lineups for each of the four Princeton boats can be found at the bottom of this story.
The full 12 teams competing for the NCAA title are Brown, California, Harvard, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Southern California, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Yale. Also, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee and UCLA will send at-large 8s, which will compete for the fastest 1V championship.
"There will be a tremendous amount of competition this weekend," Dauphiny said. "There is as much depth or more in women's rowing as there has ever been. Many of the newer programs are really moving up. There is a lot of speed around the country."
California enters the weekend as the favorite, while Brown is the defending NCAA champion. Princeton's best finish is second (1997), although it placed fourth last year. NCAAsports.com will provide complete coverage of the Championships, while GoPrincetonTigers.com will provide a wrap-up at the completion of the event.
Princeton 1V
C: Margaret Arbuthnot
S: Caroline Lind
7: Katrina Wechselberger
6: Jackie Zider
5: Devan Darby
4: Genevra Stone
3: Kristin Haraldsdottir
2: Amy Bensted
B: Kate Bertko
Princeton 2V
C: Erinna Chen
S: Danielle Villoch
7: Rebecca Nieson
6: Valerie Ethier
5: Kelsey Welsch
4: Luca Nagy
3: Abigail Chambers
2: Sarah Allen
B: Caroline Kruse
Princeton 4
C: Marcelline Baumann
S: Caroline Closmore
3: Christina Otero
2: Kristen McMenamin
B: Carolyn Wood