Princeton University Athletics
Top-Seeded Men's Lightweights Look For First Eastern, Ivy Title Since 2003
May 14, 2008 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
For the first time in three-year tenure as head coach of Princeton
men's lightweight rowing, head coach Greg Hughes will bring the top
seed into the EARC championships, held at Lake Quinsigamond in
Worcester, Mass. He isn't concerned, though, that overconfidence will
play any role for his talented squad; after all, anybody familiar with
the sport knows the level of parity among the top programs.
“The guys are pretty mature about the nature of our league,” Hughes said. “They know it cycles around. We happened to have a big win at the end of the season, so we're the top seed. They know they can make a boat go fast, and they can execute the parts of a plan to make us successful.”
After a season-opening loss to No. 3 Navy, Princeton has experienced nothing but success. The Tigers have won six straight, including a Goldthwait Cup victory over No. Yale and No. 8 Harvard. That win was the big one that pushed Princeton to the top seed, but Hughes knows it won't mean much when the Tigers line up for their 11:12 semifinal heat.
“The racing is going to be really close,” he said. “In most sports, the Ivy season defines the Ivy champion. In our sport, there is a championship event. Everybody knows that everybody else has, and you line up and see who wins. I really appreciate that aspect of it.
“That's why it's such a cool race,” Hughes continued. “The quality and intensity in this race is really special. You have your rivals, but in this light, you have to admire all of your opponents. To me, this is the most special race there is.”
What makes the day so competitive and special is the fact that the winning team will need two championship performances in one day. Last year, Dartmouth edged out Yale by 1.5 seconds to claim the final spot in the grand final. A few hours later, the Big Green celebrated an Eastern and Ivy League title. Princeton will need a third-place finish or better in its semifinal heat to reach the 5:45 grand final.
“Obviously, fitness plays a part, and I think we have trained well,” Hughes said. “But everybody is doing the same thing. It's not like one crew has to race hard twice and another doesn't. Ninety percent of what you need to win Sprints comes from the first 6-7 months of the season, when you do all your offseason work and train daily during the season.”
In Princeton's heat will be reigning Eastern champion Dartmouth, two-time reigning national champion Cornell, Harvard and MIT. The Tigers own regular-season wins over both Cornell (4.4 seconds) and Harvard (10.3 seconds), but they didn't face Dartmouth or MIT during the season.
Besides winning Princeton's first lightweight Eastern and Ivy League title since 2003, Hughes is also hopeful to send four boats to their respective grand finals. The second varsity is 3-3 on the season and seeded fourth, while the third varsity is 4-2 and seeded third. The first freshman boat is 4-3, although it ended the season with a disappointing third-place finish against Harvard and Yale. Hughes is hopeful that experience could become a positive by this weekend.
“I think the freshmen are doing a good job,” Hughes, the former Princeton heavyweight freshman coach who guided the 2003 novice eight to a Henley title, said. “I think they might have learned a lesson from that race, and I think they'll do well this weekend.”
“The guys are pretty mature about the nature of our league,” Hughes said. “They know it cycles around. We happened to have a big win at the end of the season, so we're the top seed. They know they can make a boat go fast, and they can execute the parts of a plan to make us successful.”
After a season-opening loss to No. 3 Navy, Princeton has experienced nothing but success. The Tigers have won six straight, including a Goldthwait Cup victory over No. Yale and No. 8 Harvard. That win was the big one that pushed Princeton to the top seed, but Hughes knows it won't mean much when the Tigers line up for their 11:12 semifinal heat.
“The racing is going to be really close,” he said. “In most sports, the Ivy season defines the Ivy champion. In our sport, there is a championship event. Everybody knows that everybody else has, and you line up and see who wins. I really appreciate that aspect of it.
“That's why it's such a cool race,” Hughes continued. “The quality and intensity in this race is really special. You have your rivals, but in this light, you have to admire all of your opponents. To me, this is the most special race there is.”
What makes the day so competitive and special is the fact that the winning team will need two championship performances in one day. Last year, Dartmouth edged out Yale by 1.5 seconds to claim the final spot in the grand final. A few hours later, the Big Green celebrated an Eastern and Ivy League title. Princeton will need a third-place finish or better in its semifinal heat to reach the 5:45 grand final.
“Obviously, fitness plays a part, and I think we have trained well,” Hughes said. “But everybody is doing the same thing. It's not like one crew has to race hard twice and another doesn't. Ninety percent of what you need to win Sprints comes from the first 6-7 months of the season, when you do all your offseason work and train daily during the season.”
In Princeton's heat will be reigning Eastern champion Dartmouth, two-time reigning national champion Cornell, Harvard and MIT. The Tigers own regular-season wins over both Cornell (4.4 seconds) and Harvard (10.3 seconds), but they didn't face Dartmouth or MIT during the season.
Besides winning Princeton's first lightweight Eastern and Ivy League title since 2003, Hughes is also hopeful to send four boats to their respective grand finals. The second varsity is 3-3 on the season and seeded fourth, while the third varsity is 4-2 and seeded third. The first freshman boat is 4-3, although it ended the season with a disappointing third-place finish against Harvard and Yale. Hughes is hopeful that experience could become a positive by this weekend.
“I think the freshmen are doing a good job,” Hughes, the former Princeton heavyweight freshman coach who guided the 2003 novice eight to a Henley title, said. “I think they might have learned a lesson from that race, and I think they'll do well this weekend.”
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