Princeton University
Penn
Princeton Men's Lightweights Retain Wood-Hammond Cup Against Penn
April 26, 2008 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
The No. 2 Princeton men's lightweights swept a pair of races against Penn Saturday morning at Lake Carnegie to retain the Wood-Hammond Cup. The win sets up next weekend's showdown of the top two teams in the nation, as No. 1 Yale and No. 6 Harvard will race the second-ranked Tigers on the Charles River.
Princeton won the first varsity showdown in a time of 6:05.8, while Penn placed second in 6:26.6. The freshman race would be closer, but Princeton still came away with an impressive win in 6:24.4.
Princeton is now 4-1 on the year and has won four straight races. Princeton's lone loss is to Navy, who in turn lost to Yale. While those three teams will be considered the favorites for the Eastern and IRA titles, the deep field of lightweight contenders is as strong as any year. Two-time defending national champion Cornell is fourth, and 2007 Eastern and Ivy League champion is ranked fifth.
Saturday's Results, courtesy of Row2K.com
First Varsity: Princeton 6:05.8; Penn 6:26.6
First Freshman: Princeton 6:24.4; Penn 6:35.9