Princeton University Athletics
Open Women Hope '08 Experiences Lead To '09 Medals At EAWRC Championships
May 14, 2009 | Women's Rowing - Open
This is not unknown territory for head coach Lori Dauphiny and the Princeton open crew. Following a season filled with both victories and injuries, the Tigers are seeded third in each of the three major races for the 2009 EAWRC championships. Dauphiny is hoping the team handles the situation better than it did one year earlier.
It isn't the first time that Dauphiny hasn't been sure of exactly what she had in Orange and Black; in the preseason, Dauphiny was hopeful that her squad could bounce back from a disappointing postseason, but she wasn't certain. Fewer competitors and injuries were leaving little margin for error, but the rowers' response would be impressive. The team went 8-2, including a season-opening victory over reigning EAWRC champion Brown, and ended the regular season with a win at the Metro Cup, a one-day regatta held on Cooper River; this weekend's championships will be at the same place.
"I am very pleased with our regular season," Dauphiny said, "but I expect our crew to handle the postseason better than last year. We learned a lesson last year. You can't just ride on your season success. Boats develop speed during the season."
For example, the 2008 team also defeated Brown in the season opener. Princeton defeated Harvard by more than six seconds, and it lost to Yale by less than three seconds. But with only three medals up for grabs, Brown, Yale and Harvard each crossed the finish line before Princeton in the grand final.
This season, Princeton again defeated Brown, again defeated Harvard by more than six seconds and again lost to Yale by less than three seconds. Whether the deja vu factor continues Sunday will depend on how the first varsity handles a tough week of training and a challenging day of competition. Princeton will race in a heat with Harvard, Penn and Cornell, and it will need a top-two finish to qualify for the grand final. If weather is an issue (the Thursday a.m. forecast calls for tempertatures in the low 60s and a 40% chance of rain), a victory in the semifinal heat would earn Princeton a better lane in the final. That could lead to an all-out effort in the first race, with the championship one still to come.
"You can never discount the rest of the field," Dauphiny said. "We've seen Harvard, Penn and Cornell before, but they'll have gained speed since then. I think we have too. Psychologically, we need to have a good first race. I'm not sure we need to win it, but we need to have a good performance."
A top-two finish would likely send Princeton back into a final with the likes of Brown, Yale and Harvard, the same foursome that battled for last year's title. Yale is the reigning NCAA champion and spent most of the season ranked first nationally. Brown is the reigning EAWRC and Ivy League champion and hasn't lost since the season opener at Princeton, a stretch that includes a victory over Yale. Harvard is ranked fourth but has the knowledge that it was in the same position one year earlier.
All in all, it makes for an exciting day.
"I think all the medals are up for grabs," Dauphiny said. "We're contenders. Yale is definitely very powerful and Brown is known to bring things together during the season. Those are the favorites, but I think the competition for all three medals are up for grabs."
That holds true in all three races; moreso than men's heavyweight, men's lightweight or women's lightweight rowing, there is greater emphasis placed on team depth in open crew. The NCAA championships are determined by three boats: the first varsity eight, the second varsity eight and the varsity four. Princeton has the third-seeded boat in each group, and in each they trail (in some order) Brown and Yale. Last year, those three Princeton boats were shut out from the medal stand. Dauphiny is hopeful that changes this weekend.
"There are people who go to Sprints all four years and never win a medal," Dauphiny said. "It's pretty special to win a Sprints medal, and if we can medal in all three of those NCAA events, I would be very proud of the program."