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Open Crew Gets Ready To Answer Questions As 2009 Season Nears
March 26, 2009 | Women's Rowing - Open
Open crew head coach understands that there is plenty of unknown as she readies herself for the 2009 season. Coming off a season of highs and lows, Dauphiny is hopeful that a dedicated offseason will lead to a consistently successful spring.
“I think we had a reasonable fall,” said the veteran head coach, just three years removed from her dominant NCAA championship squad of 2006. “We didn't necessarily meet our goals in terms of speed, but we competed well and we really buckled down in the winter.”
There were very few seniors in the 2008 varsity eight, which opened the season with a convincing victory over eventual Eastern champion Brown and ended with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA championships. The youthful mix may have played a significant role in the inconsistency, and Dauphiny is hopeful that will provide a better foundation for this season.
“It was a disappointing end last year,” Dauphiny said. “It was a great regular season, but then a disappointing championship season. Unfortunately, the final result is what you are left with throughout the offseason.”
That bad taste drove the team to a dedicated offseason, and it appears there will still be a solid mix of rowers in competition for the varsity eight. While the seniors will not necessarily dominate the top boat, with the new NCAA guidelines for championship selection, the entire class will play an important role this year.
“In years past, the NCAA would select a number of at-large varsity eights, so I really only needed to get one fast boat,” Dauphiny explained. “This year, we have to go as a full team. I'm not sure if we always bought into the importance of the second and third boats, but they better buy in this year. Otherwise, they'll be on the sidelines watching at the end.”
Dauphiny specifically pointed to Brown, Princeton's opening-week opponent, as a program that has put together a deep and talented squad. With a plethora of seniors with great dedication to the program, there is a chance for the Tigers to be one of those deep teams.
But until the racing starts, Dauphiny can only guess.
“We'll definitely head into the year as an underdog, especially with Brown and Yale finishing in the top two at both Easterns and NCAAs,” she said. “It's a big gap, but we're going into the season with the goal of bridging that gap. I don't know how close we actually are right now, but we'll start to see this weekend.”
Like most teams, Princeton should be a far better team as the championship season approaches. First of all, chemistry will start to develop in all three boats, especially the varsity eight. Any freshmen who may make the top boat will develop more as the season goes on, and Michelle King, one of Dauphiny's top rowers, is coming off an injury that cost her most of the winter. As King gets stronger, so will the team.
Just how strong that team will become is the big question, but Dauphiny has adjusted her coaching style to make sure every day is more of a teaching opportunity. While some of her past teams, especially the great ones from 2004 through 2006, may have been able to do plenty on their own, Dauphiny is stressing the basics this season and hoping that the gradual development will put the Tigers in the medal chase by the time Easterns roll around.
“I think we had a reasonable fall,” said the veteran head coach, just three years removed from her dominant NCAA championship squad of 2006. “We didn't necessarily meet our goals in terms of speed, but we competed well and we really buckled down in the winter.”
There were very few seniors in the 2008 varsity eight, which opened the season with a convincing victory over eventual Eastern champion Brown and ended with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA championships. The youthful mix may have played a significant role in the inconsistency, and Dauphiny is hopeful that will provide a better foundation for this season.
“It was a disappointing end last year,” Dauphiny said. “It was a great regular season, but then a disappointing championship season. Unfortunately, the final result is what you are left with throughout the offseason.”
That bad taste drove the team to a dedicated offseason, and it appears there will still be a solid mix of rowers in competition for the varsity eight. While the seniors will not necessarily dominate the top boat, with the new NCAA guidelines for championship selection, the entire class will play an important role this year.
“In years past, the NCAA would select a number of at-large varsity eights, so I really only needed to get one fast boat,” Dauphiny explained. “This year, we have to go as a full team. I'm not sure if we always bought into the importance of the second and third boats, but they better buy in this year. Otherwise, they'll be on the sidelines watching at the end.”
Dauphiny specifically pointed to Brown, Princeton's opening-week opponent, as a program that has put together a deep and talented squad. With a plethora of seniors with great dedication to the program, there is a chance for the Tigers to be one of those deep teams.
But until the racing starts, Dauphiny can only guess.
“We'll definitely head into the year as an underdog, especially with Brown and Yale finishing in the top two at both Easterns and NCAAs,” she said. “It's a big gap, but we're going into the season with the goal of bridging that gap. I don't know how close we actually are right now, but we'll start to see this weekend.”
Like most teams, Princeton should be a far better team as the championship season approaches. First of all, chemistry will start to develop in all three boats, especially the varsity eight. Any freshmen who may make the top boat will develop more as the season goes on, and Michelle King, one of Dauphiny's top rowers, is coming off an injury that cost her most of the winter. As King gets stronger, so will the team.
Just how strong that team will become is the big question, but Dauphiny has adjusted her coaching style to make sure every day is more of a teaching opportunity. While some of her past teams, especially the great ones from 2004 through 2006, may have been able to do plenty on their own, Dauphiny is stressing the basics this season and hoping that the gradual development will put the Tigers in the medal chase by the time Easterns roll around.
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