Princeton University Athletics
Trio Of Top Open Programs Meet Saturday In Eisenberg Cup Regatta
April 15, 2010 | Women's Rowing - Open
| Racing Schedule | |
| 9 a.m. • V4+B | |
| 9:20 a.m. • 3V | |
| 9:40 a.m. • V4+A | |
| 10 a.m. • 2V | |
| 10:20 a.m. • 1V |
The Princeton open women are undefeated in 2010, with six victories over the span of three regattas. The sixth-ranked Tigers have four victories against Ivy League rivals, including one over the fifth-ranked Brown Bears.
But Saturday morning, unlike any other so far in the 2010 season, Princeton will really get a sense of where it stands amongst the best in the nation.
The biggest regatta in the sport this weekend will take place on Lake Carnegie, with three of the nation's top six programs competing in The Eisenberg Cup regatta. Racing will begin at 9 a.m., with the varsity eight showdown scheduled for 10:20 a.m. The top-ranked men's lightweights will compete against Cornell and St. Joseph's immediately following the women's regatta.
Yale ended an 18-year drought in the Eisenberg Cup three seasons ago and has yet to give it up, although Princeton battled the eventual Ivy champions to the wire last season. The Tigers fell by 2.9 seconds in New Haven, and will look to return the Cup to Princeton for the first time since 2006. These two programs have been among the Ivy's best in recent years; five of the past six league champions have been either Princeton (2004, 2006) or Yale (2005, 2007, 2009).
Princeton has yet to match its brilliant speed from 2006, when it went unchallenged through a perfect regular season and swept both the EAWRC and NCAA grand finals. This season has started off as well as Dauphiny could hope, with victories over two Top 20 programs in Brown and 15th-ranked Ohio State. Each of Princeton's three NCAA boats are off to strong starts; the 2V is 5-1, while the varsity four is 4-2, and both have won at least four straight races.
And while Princeton and Yale are the teams racing for the Eisenberg Cup, it is impossible to forget when the No. 1 team in the nation is also on the starting line. After opening its season by winning the San Diego Crew Classic, the Cavaliers swept both Michigan and Ohio State last weekend to earn the No. 1 ranking in the sport.
Virginia showed how strong it could be in the NCAA Grand Final last year, placing second to Stanford by .37 of a second. Both Yale and Princeton were also in the NCAA championship race in 2009; the Bulldogs, champions in 2007 and 2008, placed fourth, while the Tigers, champions in 2006, placed sixth.