Princeton University Athletics
Men's Heavies, Women's Lights Reach IRA Grand Finals
June 01, 2007 | Women's Rowing - Lightweight
At least two Princeton crews will race for national championships
Saturday at Cooper River, and the men's lightweights will try to make
it three. Strong performances by the men's heavyweight squad and the
women's lightweight one earned berths in Saturday's IRA national
finals, and the men's lightweights will need a top-three finish in a
tough second men's lightweight semifinal (7:34 a.m.) to earn a berth of
its own.
Princeton opened the IRA Championships on Thursday in the second heat and placed second in a time of 5:38.988, less than two seconds faster than Nvay and about one second behind California. The second-place finish sent Princeton immediately into one of the semifinals, where a top-three finish clinches a berth in the biggest race of the collegiate season. Princeton's semifinal featured crews from across the country, but the defending silver medalists got the job done. Washington won the race in 5:37.005, while Princeton took second in 5:38.251, just edging out Stanford, which also reached the final in a time of 5:38.775.
The national title will be competed for at 2 p.m. Lane assignments will be (1) Stanford (2) Harvard (3) Washington (4) California (5) Princeton and (6) Brown.
The women's lightweights finished behind Bucknell in its semifinal heat, but with only a top-three spot necessary to reach the final, the Tigers got the job done with plenty of time to spare. More than 18 seconds seperated Princeton's time of 6:40.787 from Long Beach's time of 7:08.946, meaning the Tigers didn't need a full charge to complete the race. That won't be true during Saturday's national final (2:27), when Princeton takes on unbeaten Wisconsin and talented rivals Radcliffe, Georgetown, Stanford and Bucknell. Prior to Friday's heat, Princeton's only loss of the season came at Eastern sprints, when top-ranked Wisconsin topped Princeton for the gold. The Tigers, who will race out of lane five Saturday, will look to avenge the loss to the Badgers, who will come from lane 3.
Other Princeton heavyweight boats are competing at IRAs. The following are their updates:
Novice Eight
The freshman eight needed a top-three finish in the second semifinal, and it found itself in a showdown with Northeastern for that spot. The Tigers finished behind California and Brown, but their time of 5:46.245 earned them a spot in the grand final, while Northeastern finished more than three seconds behind. Princeton will compete with Yale, Brown, Harvard, California and Wahington for the novice IRA title Saturday at 12:42.
Second Varsity Eight
A third-place finish in its first repechage knocked Princeton out of the IRA title hunt and sent it into the second level of semifinals. By finishing second in the third semifinal run on Friday, the Tigers earned a spot in the third-level final Saturday at 9:10 a.m. The race will also feature Michigan, George Washington, Navy, Georgetown and Delaware.
Novice Four
A win in its repechage and a second-place finish to Yale in the first semifinal (6:36.752) earned the Princeton novice four a berth in the 10:02 grand final. Princeton will take on Ivy rivals Harvard and Yale, along with California, Boston University and Oregon St.
Open Four
Princeton made a quick move into Sunday's open four final (10:26) by winning Thursday's opening heat in a time of 6:30.162. That topped Washington by more than four seconds. Cornell and Northeastern were also heat winners and will be among the finalists racing against Princeton for the gold.
Varsity Pair
Princeton will compete in
the third-level final at 7:46 a.m. Princeton's repechage time of
7:21.230 was not enough to advance to either of the top finals.