Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
Men?s Lightweights Complete Perfect Season With 2009 National Championship
June 06, 2009 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
As an undergraduate rower, Greg Hughes led the Princeton lightweight crew to a stirring come-from-behind victory in the 1996 IRA national final; the winning margin was .01 of a second. On Saturday, as head coach of the same program, he watched his team win the same title, but in a significantly less heart-stopping way.
Top-ranked Princeton won its first national title in 11 years by defeating Yale by open water to complete a perfect season. By following up on its Eastern/Ivy League title, won May 10, the 2009 men's lightweights became only the fourth team in program history to win both major championships and the first since 1998.
“A lot of credit goes to the guys,” Hughes said after the team followed a four-week break with a championship effort. “They did a fantastic job of staying focused through graduation and a lot of other things. We mixed it up since Easterns and did a lot of small boat rowing; we didn't row 8s for two weeks. It allowed us to treat it like we were preparing for another season. They had their sights set on this race and they didn't take it for granted.”
Not only did Princeton not take the win for granted, but the team was well aware that it had a major bullseye on it. As the preseason No. 1 team, the Tigers went 7-0 against some of the best lightweight programs in the country and followed it up with an Eastern championship. Thus, they knew teams would try to sprint out of the gates and establish themselves as a major player.
There was only problem for the other six programs in the field; through 500 meters, nobody was within two seconds of Princeton.
“Normally this race has some hard-starting crews,” Hughes said. “We've had some really good starts this season, and we figured teams would try to start hard with us. We wanted to make sure we got off well. It was an impressive start. The guys wanted to prove that what they did at Sprints was no fluke.”
The opening split saw Princeton at 1:27.99 and no other boat under 1:30. Princeton's second split of 1:31.34 was faster than any of the other six boats as well; the Tigers led Harvard by more than 3.5 seconds with 1,000 meters remaining and needed only to avoid disaster to clinch the perfect season.
With this team, there was hardly a hiccup, much less a disaster. Princeton's third split was also the fastest in the field (1:33.70) and with 500 meters remaining, the EARC champions led Yale by more than five seconds. The Bulldogs charged hard to hold off Harvard for second place, but Princeton was already more than four seconds into celebrating its national title.
“We had all the physical components you need to win, but there's intangibles as well,” Hughes said. “There is attitude and personality of the guys. How you approach good and bad, and how you come together. Whatever they did, they did it right. It's a tall order in this league to have a perfect season, and it's a real testament to these guys.
“When we won the IRA in 1996, won by .01 of a second,” Hughes added. “These guys had command the whole time. I can safely say I did not do that, and I don't think it's happened very often.”
That's because teams like this one don't come around terribly often.
Princeton First Varsity ? Ivy League, EARC and IRA National Champions
Cox ? Dave Cleveland
Stroke ? Robin Prendes
7 ? Jack Leonard
6 ? Justin Teti
5 ? Tom Paulett
4 ? James Donovan
3 ? Christian Klein
2 ? Dave Krueger
Bow ? Alex Dillon
IRA National Final
1) Princeton 6:03.23
2) Yale 6:08.00
3) Harvard 6:09.60
4) Georgetown 6:12.93
5) Cornell 6:13.42
6) Navy 6:14.80
7) Columbia 6:24.69
Top-ranked Princeton won its first national title in 11 years by defeating Yale by open water to complete a perfect season. By following up on its Eastern/Ivy League title, won May 10, the 2009 men's lightweights became only the fourth team in program history to win both major championships and the first since 1998.
“A lot of credit goes to the guys,” Hughes said after the team followed a four-week break with a championship effort. “They did a fantastic job of staying focused through graduation and a lot of other things. We mixed it up since Easterns and did a lot of small boat rowing; we didn't row 8s for two weeks. It allowed us to treat it like we were preparing for another season. They had their sights set on this race and they didn't take it for granted.”
Not only did Princeton not take the win for granted, but the team was well aware that it had a major bullseye on it. As the preseason No. 1 team, the Tigers went 7-0 against some of the best lightweight programs in the country and followed it up with an Eastern championship. Thus, they knew teams would try to sprint out of the gates and establish themselves as a major player.
There was only problem for the other six programs in the field; through 500 meters, nobody was within two seconds of Princeton.
“Normally this race has some hard-starting crews,” Hughes said. “We've had some really good starts this season, and we figured teams would try to start hard with us. We wanted to make sure we got off well. It was an impressive start. The guys wanted to prove that what they did at Sprints was no fluke.”
The opening split saw Princeton at 1:27.99 and no other boat under 1:30. Princeton's second split of 1:31.34 was faster than any of the other six boats as well; the Tigers led Harvard by more than 3.5 seconds with 1,000 meters remaining and needed only to avoid disaster to clinch the perfect season.
With this team, there was hardly a hiccup, much less a disaster. Princeton's third split was also the fastest in the field (1:33.70) and with 500 meters remaining, the EARC champions led Yale by more than five seconds. The Bulldogs charged hard to hold off Harvard for second place, but Princeton was already more than four seconds into celebrating its national title.
“We had all the physical components you need to win, but there's intangibles as well,” Hughes said. “There is attitude and personality of the guys. How you approach good and bad, and how you come together. Whatever they did, they did it right. It's a tall order in this league to have a perfect season, and it's a real testament to these guys.
“When we won the IRA in 1996, won by .01 of a second,” Hughes added. “These guys had command the whole time. I can safely say I did not do that, and I don't think it's happened very often.”
That's because teams like this one don't come around terribly often.
Princeton First Varsity ? Ivy League, EARC and IRA National Champions
Cox ? Dave Cleveland
Stroke ? Robin Prendes
7 ? Jack Leonard
6 ? Justin Teti
5 ? Tom Paulett
4 ? James Donovan
3 ? Christian Klein
2 ? Dave Krueger
Bow ? Alex Dillon
IRA National Final
1) Princeton 6:03.23
2) Yale 6:08.00
3) Harvard 6:09.60
4) Georgetown 6:12.93
5) Cornell 6:13.42
6) Navy 6:14.80
7) Columbia 6:24.69
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