Princeton University
EARC Sprints
Heavyweight Varsity Eight Returns To Medal Stand With Bronze Effort At Easterns
May 18, 2008 | Heavyweight Rowing
One year after being edged out for third place in the EARC championship final, the Princeton varsity eight got back to the medal stand with a third-place finish in the 2008 EARC grand final, held Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. Princeton reached all four grand finals on the day and peaked with a silver effort from its novice eight.
The Tiger varsity eight, seeded fourth entering the championships, finished its grand final in a third-place time of 6:13.39. Wisconsin, the second seed, won the Eastern title in a time of 6:09.72, while top-seeded Brown finished second in 6:13.21. Princeton gained a place on the medal stand by topping fourth-place Yale by more than four seconds, while Northeastern and Columbia rounded out the final six in the last race of the day.
One of the expected challengers for the varsity eight title was eliminated much earlier than expected. Princeton won its third semifinal heat in a time of 5:59.97, less than one second ahead of historic rivals Yale and Harvard. The Crimson, which topped Princeton in the regular season and was seeded third entering the regatta, fell to Yale by less than .7 of a second and was sent to the petite final.
There were no petite finals for Princeton, which qualified a second varsity eight, a third varsity eight and a novice eight in their respective grand finals, and all either matched or exceeded their pre-race seedings. The novice eight has lost only one race all season to Harvard, and it came in as the second seed behind the Crimson. That would be the finish once again in the grand final, as Harvard won a tight finish between the Crimson, Princeton and Brown. Harvard won in 5:57.64, while Princeton picked up silver in 5:58.65. Brown placed third in 5:58.77.
The second varsity eight, seeded sixth, finished sixth in the grand final in 6:37.04. Wisconsin edged Harvard in the second varsity eight final. The third varsity eight was the ninth seed entering the weekend, but the Tigers upset higher-ranked Boston University and Georgetown to reach the final, where they finished sixth in 6:21.65.
Head coach Curtis Jordan and the Tigers will now focus on the 2008 IRA national championships, held June 5-7 at Cooper River in Camden, N.J. Princeton reached the grand final in the varsity eight and novice eight at last year's IRA championships.
All times from the 2008 EARC championships can be found here.