Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Eastern Men's Sprints
Heavyweights Just Miss Medal Stand At Eastern Sprints
May 13, 2007 | General, Heavyweight Rowing
The Princeton heavyweights knew every second would be precious Sunday as they raced for an Eastern medal. As it turned out, it was a tenth of a second that cost the Tigers a spot on the medal stand. The 2006 Eastern and Ivy League champion Tigers placed fourth in the varsity grand final, barely missing a third-place finish at the expense of Wisconsin at the 2007 EARC championships in Worcester, Mass. The novice eight claimed a bronze for the program.
After qualifying from its semifinal heat by defeating Northeastern for a top-two finish, the Tigers completed the Lake Quinsigamond course in 5:30.32. Harvard, whose run of Eastern titles was ended by Princeton last season, regained the crown in 5:27.01, while Yale claimed second in 5:29.20. The thrilling race for bronze went the way of Wisconsin, whose time of 5:30.24 was .08 hundreths of a second faster than Princeton.
The novice eight placed third in its grand final, claiming a bronze medal in the process. The Tigers finished in 5:42.35, which was more than one second faster than fourth-place Northeastern for the final spot on the medal stand. Brown won the competition in 5:39.01, while Harvard barely edged Princeton for second place with a time of 5:41.04.
The second varsity eight was the lone squad not to qualify for a grand final. The Tigers finished third in their petite final with a time of 5:55.30.
Princeton will be off until the first weekend of June, when it heads to Cooper River to compete in the IRA national championships. Princeton claimed the gold medal in the first varsity national final last season.