Princeton University Athletics
Men's Crews Head To Easterns With Golden Aspirations In Sight
May 19, 2006 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
May 19, 2006
WORCESTER, Mass. - The final two Ivy League titles will be awarded this weekend, and a pair of Princeton men's crews are in the hunt for them. The top-ranked men's heavyweights enter Sunday's Eastern Sprints as the favorite after a perfect regular season, while the lightweights are in the mix of a deep field of contenders.
HEAVYWEIGHTS
There's no point trying to downplay expectations. Princeton was ranked No. 1 at the beginning of the season. It won every race this season, and it became the first collegiate crew in 22 years to win the Head of the Charles. The Tigers own wins over the next two ranked Eastern teams, Brown and Harvard.
Yes, Princeton is a favorite, but that won't mean anything Sunday.
"Everybody has gotten faster," head coach Curtis Jordan said. "It's a long season, and racing began one week earlier this year. It's been a long time since we've seen Harvard, and it's been three weeks since we raced Brown."
While Jordan knows that the opposing crews will be faster than he last saw, he's plenty confident in his own squad.
This process began in 2003, when many of the 1V rowers were in the novice boat that claimed both the sprints and IRA titles. Oarsmen Sam Loch, Alex Hearne, Steve Coppola and Mike Gottlieb, and coxswain James Egan, went directly to the 1V boat in 2004 and earned second-team All-Ivy honors. Harvard held Princeton off that season, just as it did last year, when Pier DeRoo joined his classmates in the 1V boat.
Those seniors didn't give any of those races away. Harvard won them. A boat that has been remarkably consistent over the past three years needs one more consistent day on Sunday.
"We're ready to go," Jordan said. "This is not a class that has had ups and downs. They don't have bad weekends, so we're not worried about a down performance. We'll race our race and see what happens."
Weather could be a concern, but there is nothing Jordan or any other coach can do about the potential for rain and wind. It could level the playing field of any grand final, where Princeton hopes to have four boats in competition. The Tigers currently have the fifth-ranked second and third varsity and the fourth-ranked novice boat. If all four can reach their grand finals, Princeton will have a shot at winning the Rowe Cup (overall team points) for the second straight season. Men's Lightweights
In his first season as head coach, Greg Hughes has been very pleased with the consistent development and utter determination shown by his lightweight crews. He's hopeful that will translate into a berth in Sunday's grand final, which Princeton missed last season. If it can make that final, anything becomes a possibility.
"The one thing about Sprints is that semifinal race is the only determining factor on whether you make the final," Hughes said. "You have to be on from the start. We can't win the race from the start, but we definitely have to be in it those first 25 strokes."
Princeton, the fourth seed this weekend, is in a semifinal heat with top-seeded Navy, fifth-seeded Harvard, eighth-seeded Cornell and ninth-seeded Penn. The Tigers will need to be in the top three to advance to the grand final. Princeton edged Harvard in the regular season but lost to Cornell. Of course, ninth-seeded Penn nearly topped No. 1 seed Navy recently, so anything is possible.
"We have a young crew that learned a lot this year," Hughes said. "We raced gritty, hard races that will make us ready for the weekend, and we've done the work the past few weekends to get our speed up. I've been pleased with the way the guys have risen to the challenge, coming off a disappointing year. That says something about the character of the guys on the team. They came back and worked."
Like the heavyweights, Princeton has its eye on the team title. The Tigers last claimed the Jope Cup in 2003, which was also their last 1V title. Princeton has the second-ranked third varsity and the third-ranked novice boat, so the biggest semifinal race might be in the second varsity department. Princeton enters as the seventh seed and will need to move up a spot to qualify for the grand final.
"We're in contention, and it's been a common goal for our squad," Hughes said. "I would say Navy is the favorite, but with the parity in this league, you never know. Getting into four grand finals is key."