Princeton University Athletics
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Third-Seeded Open Women Hope For Big Push To Eastern, Ivy Championship
May 14, 2008 | Women's Rowing - Open
Even years have been kind to Princeton head coach Lori Dauphiny, who guided the Tiger open women to Eastern and Ivy League championships in 2004 and 2006. To win a third title in five years, Dauphiny knows that her team will have to put forth its best race of the season, but she's seen it happen before. In her 12th season as Princeton head coach, Dauphiny has seen plenty of cases when the top seeds entering the weekend don't finish in the same position.
"I think they realize that, but they're a pretty young team," Dauphiny said as she prepared Princeton for Sunday's EAWRC championships at the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. "We only have two seniors in the varsity eight, so their leadership will be critical."
Those two seniors, coxswain Lizzie Agnew and stroke Kristin Haraldsdottir, were in the historic 2006 squad that crushed the field to win both the Eastern and NCAA championship. That team was the clear favorite, while the 2008 team is considered more of a contender than a favorite. Brown, bolstered by a season-ending win over former No. 1 Yale, and defending champion Yale are the top two seeds, while Princeton and Radcliffe are the next two seeded teams. Princeton defeated Brown in the season-opening regatta and fell in a tight race to Yale by 2.3 seconds later in the season.
"I think the rankings are legitimate," Dauphiny said. "I think Brown and Yale should be the favored crews, but I think anybody who makes the final is a legitimate contender. Once you get to that final, it's your last race of the day, so there's nothing to lose. I think the field is tighter than in past years."
Winning the Eastern title is the ultimate goal, but it isn't the first one on Sunday. Princeton will need to finish in the top two of the 9 a.m. semifinal heat to qualify for the 4:55 grand final. Princeton will be in lane three and compete against Georgetown, Columbia, Radcliffe, Bucknell and George Washington.
"We have a tough heat," Dauphiny said. "Radcliffe will be strong, and we beat Columbia by only five seconds in the regular season. Bucknell is an unknown since it was invited after winning the Knecht Cup. It will be their first time at Sprints, and I'm sure they'll be excited."
With the experience of beating Radcliffe, Columbia and George Washington during the season, Princeton will be favored to qualify for the final. From there, it will take a terrific showing to reach the medal stand for the sixth straight season. Since placing fourth in 2002, Dauphiny's team has won gold twice (2004, 2006), silver three times (2003, 2005) and bronze once (2007).
While most eyes will be on the varsity eight competition, Princeton has legitimate contenders in the other three competitions, especially the novice eight. The Tiger freshmen are seeded second behind Brown and have won nine straight races. The second varsity eight is seeded fourth and the varsity four, which has been affected by injury throughout the season, is ranked sixth. Four grand finals would be a terrific team accomplishment for Dauphiny and would give the team greater confidence heading into the 2008 NCAA Championships, which is much more of an overall team competition than the Eastern Sprints.