Princeton University Athletics
Open Women Head To Cornell To Face Pair Of Ivy Rivals
April 05, 2007 | Women's Rowing - Open
After racing the Bucknell open weights last weekend, Princeton women's lightweight head coach Paul Rassam will finally watch his squad compete against teams in its own field. Upstart programs Central Florida and MIT will travel to Lake Carnegie this weekend for a Saturday morning showdown, one of three Princeton regattas this weekend. The defending national champion Princeton open women will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to take on Cornell and Radcliffe while the heavyweight men will head up Rt. 1 to take on longtime rival Rutgers.
The lightweight women opened its season last weekend with solid racing against Bucknell. Although the Bison open women won the race, Rassam was pleased at the way Princeton competed. He will be extremely interested in this weekend's race against two of the younger programs that are adding depth to the national field of women's lightweight rowing. Central Florida stamped itself as a team to watch at the 2006 IRA national championships when it defeated Princeton in the grand final, while MIT would love nothing more than a signature win this weekend.
Of course, Rassam has high hopes for this Princeton team, which is coming off its strongest fall in years and has several talented and experienced rowers ready to make a run at Eastern and IRA gold. Racing will begin at 9 a.m. with the novice competition, while the second varsity will compete at 9:15 and the first varsity at 9:30 a.m. The 4s will compete at 2 p.m. and 2:20 p.m.
The Princeton open women, ranked sixth in the latest national poll, are 2-2 after sweeping Columbia and Rutgers last weekend. The Tigers will head north to compete against a pair of Ivy rivals in the Crimson and Big Red this weekend. Princeton earned convincing wins against both programs last year and will look to continue fine-tuning its boats after losing several key members of last year's magical 1V crew.
The Princeton heavyweight men opened its season with a solid win over Navy and will try to retain the Logg Cup this weekend when it heads to New Brunswick to compete against Rutgers. The Tigers, ranked seventh nationally, have a trio of rowers from last year's Eastern Sprint champion, including Will England and Glenn Ochal. Princeton swept Rutgers in three races last season, with each win coming by at least 10 seconds.