Princeton University Athletics
Open Women, Light Men Capture Overall Titles At Head Of The Charles
October 24, 2010 | Heavyweight Rowing, Women's Rowing - Open, Women's Rowing - Lightweight, Men's Rowing - Lightweight
It was a terrific October afternoon on the Charles River for Princeton rowing, which won two overall titles Sunday. The lightweight men broke a 13-year course record by 12 seconds, while the open women topped reigning NCAA champion Virginia by more than eight seconds.
The open women, who spent part of last season as the top-ranked team in the country, posted an impressive showing Sunday. The Tigers finished the course in 15:48.314, more than 8.5 seconds faster than Virginia and nearly 10 seconds faster than anybody in the Ivy League. Yale posted the fastest time at the Riverside mark, but Princeton was fastest at the Weld, Cambridge and final marks.
The lightweight men, who will go into the 2011 season as the two-time defending EARC and IRA national champions, certainly made a strong first impression at the Head of the Charles. Princeton beat both the course record and the rest of the field by more than 12 seconds with a finishing time of 14:09.921. Almost as impressive was the performance of Princeton's second boat; the second Tiger crew placed seventh overall in 14:37.055 and defeated every college's top boat except for Cornell and Harvard.
"I felt like things were going well before we came up here," head coach Marty Crotty said. "Today's results are an illustration of how hard the guys worked all summer to keep pushing their limits. I am really happy with both boats' performances. The coxswains nailed their courses, which is a huge part of this race, and the rowers did a tremendous job of racing the entire three miles."
The lightweight women finished second in its race, falling only to reigning national champion Wisconsin. Princeton's time of 16:28.83 was tops among all Eastern programs and nearly five full seconds ahead of third-place Radcliffe. The heavyweight men, which is coming off a second-place finish at the 2010 EARC championships, placed 15th overall in a time of 14:32.148.