Princeton University
EAWRC Sprints
No. 1 Open Crew Cruises To Eastern Crown, Ivy League Championship
May 14, 2006 | Women's Rowing - Open
May 14, 2006
CAMDEN, N.J. - One year after being stunned in the Eastern final, the No. 1 Princeton open crew was not about to leave emptyhanded one more time. The Tigers, who set a program record with 14 wins this season, dominated the field Sunday to cruise to an Eastern crown and Ivy League championship. The win was one of two golden performances for the Orange and Black during the championship regatta.
Princeton, which has won 36 straight dual races, entered the 2005 championships as the favorite. That label didn't translate to victory, as the Yale women stormed ahead for a surprising victory.
The lessons learned from that race were apparent Sunday with a team that Lori Dauphiny felt was more mature from that race. Princeton won by a big margin, finishing in 6:50.18, while second-place Brown finished in 6:58.11. Defending champion Yale took third in 7:01.37.
The win was Princeton's ninth sprints title in the varsity eight.
The future looks bright for the Tigers as well, as the novice eight won the gold in 7:02.31, ahead of Brown's second-place time of 7:06.27. The Princeton novice eight was ranked first in the latest Eastern rankings, and it defended that title with an impressive showing.
The second varsity eight placed fourth in its grand final, finishing in 7:18.77. Brown took that victory, as it did in the varsity fours. Princeton claimed a win in the petite final, finishing in 8:17.56.
Princeton also got a fourth-place finish from its varsity 4 'B' crew and a second-place finish in the novice four.
The Tigers will now await an invitation to the NCAA championships, which will come Memorial Day weekend at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Princeton placed second in the varsity eight competition at the 2005 NCAA championships. GoPrincetonTigers.com will have further updates on the NCAA bid when it is announced.