Princeton University Athletics
Women's Lightweight Showdown Highlights Final Full Crew Weekend
April 28, 2006 | Women's Rowing - Lightweight
PRINCETON - The showdown for the No. 1 ranking in women's lightweight crew highlights the final full weekend for Princeton crew. Three of the four Tiger programs are at home, including the top-ranked open women, who will look to complete a perfect season this weekend. The men's lightweights will compete in New Haven for the Goldthwait Cup against longtime rivals Harvard and Yale.
Women's Lightweights
For the third time this season, Radcliffe and Princeton will square off. Tiger head coach Paul Rassam hopes this time is truly the charm, as it has been Radcliffe pulling ahead in both of the first two races to claim the top ranking in the sport.
The Crimson opened the season ranked third in the nation, but it moved past Princeton to No. 2 when it won the season-opening Windermere Classic showdown by more than six seconds. Two weeks later, Princeton cut into that margin by about three seconds, but Radcliffe still earned a win at the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J.
Princeton placed second in that race, topping defending champion Wisconsin in the process. That victory, combined with last week's win over No. 4 Georgetown, puts Princeton at No. 2 on all six ballots that went into this week's rankings. A win this weekend would go a long way into turning those 2s into 1s, but more importantly, it would send Princeton into the postseason with serious momentum.
The first varsity showdown, which will also determine the winner of the Class of 1999 Cup, will begin at 10:30.
Men's Lightweights
Princeton hasn't claimed the Goldthwait Cup this century and it hasn't won two races in a row this year. Of course, there's no time like the present to break a couple of trends.
Both Yale and Harvard were ranked ahead of Princeton in the first EARC men's lightweight poll, but with the parity in the sport, there's no reason that Princeton can't pull out the win. Yale is the favorite, rowing at home and owning the No. 2 ranking in the East (Navy is No. 1), but Harvard is the three-time champion and is unlikely to relinquish its crown very easily.
Princeton is a young crew that has seen some successful results this season, but a win Saturday would easily be its best of the 2006 season and give the team momentum heading into the Eastern championships in three weeks.
Women's Open
The No. 1 Princeton women's open crew will look to make history this weekend in its final race on Lake Carnegie. Besides completing its second straight perfect season and running its win streak to 36 races, Princeton will look for the first 14-win season in program history. Currently with 11 wins, Princeton would surpass the 1997, 2000 and 2003 teams by simply topping two of the weekend's three opponents, Massachusetts, Tennessee and George Washington.
Winning two out of three is far from the goal for this senior-laden squad, which has its sights set on the top prizes in the sport this year. The No. 1 team in the nation since the preseason poll, Princeton will face only one Top 20 team this weekend, No. 20 Tennessee.
This race is more about maintaining its sharp performance heading into Eastern Sprints on May 14. Princeton went undefeated last season but didn't come away with an Eastern title, and the Tigers want to make sure that they peak at the right time this year.
The first varsity race will begin at 11:15 a.m.
Men's Heavyweight
Princeton's toughest test of the regular season will likely come this weekend against No. 4 Brown in the annual Content Cup showdown. The Bears are undefeated this season and have Top-10 wins against both Harvard and Northeastern.
This will be the 13th competition for the Content Cup, and the winner will break the 6-6 deadlock. Princeton has won two straight and three of the last four, including a nearly 9-second victory over the Bears in 2005.
Besides being an important competition for a pair of top-ranked teams, it will also be the final home race for the heavyweight senior class. Beginning with the undefeated freshman season of 2003, most of the top varsity boat is part of the terrific senior class that has helped put Princeton in position to contend for the 2006 Eastern and national titles.
The first varsity race will begin at 10 a.m.
WEEKEND HOME SCHEDULE
Heavyweight Men - Princeton vs. Brown
9:15 AM - Third Varsity
9:30 AM - First Freshmen
9:45 AM - Second Varsity
10:00 AM - First Varsity
Lightweight Women - Princeton vs. Radcliffe
10:15 AM - First Novice
10:30 AM - First Varsity
10:45 AM - Second Varsity
Open Women - Princeton vs. George Washington vs. Tennessee vs. Massachusetts
11:00 AM - Second Varsity
11:15 AM - First Varsity
11:30 AM - Third Varsity 4+
11:45 AM - Second Novice 4+
12:00 PM - First Novice