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/ Women's Rowing - Open
Second-Ranked Open Crew Prepares For NCAA Championship Chase
May 27, 2010 | Women's Rowing - Open
LISTEN TO ARIEL FROST ON TIGERCAST
Four years ago, Princeton open crew head coach Lori Dauphiny brought the top boat in the country to the NCAA Championship regatta. Its dominant, gold medal-winning performance was as expected as it was impressive. This season, a more under-the-radar program has an even bigger goal in mind for the 2010 championships.
Sixteen of the best women's rowing programs, including three from the Ivy League, have made their way to the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif., for the 2010 NCAA Championships, a three-day regatta for only open rowing; the lightweight women and both men's programs will compete for national championships next weekend at the IRA regatta in Cherry Hill, N.J.
While the IRA championships, as the EAWRC one did two weeks earlier, crown the top varsity eight in the regatta, the NCAA championship will be awarded to the program with the best aggregate score from its three boats: a varsity eight, a second varsity eight and a varsity four. Princeton is one of a select few programs that has qualified for every NCAA competition since the inaugural one in 1997, and it has won two individual titles (the 1997 second varsity and the 2006 first varsity).
But it has never walked away with the top prize, although this year may be its best shot in its 14 attempts. Princeton has one second-place team finish (1997) and one third-place finish (2006), but the top spot on the podium is the one on the minds of co-captains Ariel Frost and Sara Hendershot, as well as the rest of the Princeton squad.
Princeton enters the weekend ranked second in the latest USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coaches' Poll, a poll that factors in each of the top three boats. The Tigers have been a Top 10 program all season, although it has climbed steadily from No. 8 to No. 2 throughout a brilliant regular season.
That season began March 27, when Princeton knocked off a pair of Top 10 programs in Brown and Ohio State. That would be the start of a perfect regular season for the first varsity, which went 12-0 and included wins over No. 1 Virginia and eventual EAWRC and Ivy League champion Yale. The Bulldogs edged Princeton by less than one second two weeks ago at the Eastern championships; those two beat the rest of a deep field by more than 10 seconds.
And while the varsity eight is expected to contend for Sunday's 11:45 a.m. PST grand final, it is the overall depth of Princeton's program that is the cause for optimism this weekend. Since a season-opening loss to Brown, the Tiger second varsity has been perfect. After 11 straight regular-season wins, Princeton defeated Brown by nearly five seconds in the EAWRC final to win gold.
The varsity four went 9-3 during the regular season and managed to get back on the medal stand with a third-place finish in the EAWRC final. Brown was the clear power in that race, while Yale held off Princeton for second.
Princeton will race this weekend with the same lineups (available below) this weekend and will likely need to qualify each into Sunday's respective grand finals to have a real shot at the national team championship. For the sake of comparison, 2009 NCAA champion Stanford qualified each of its three boats in grand finals and won the varsity eight competition; the next three teams in the final standings (#2 California, #3 Yale and #4 Virginia) were the other three programs to qualify a grand finalist in each event.
Racing begins Friday; all start times can be found by clicking here. GoPrincetonTigers.com will have daily recaps as the Tigers go for their first NCAA team championship in open crew.
Four years ago, Princeton open crew head coach Lori Dauphiny brought the top boat in the country to the NCAA Championship regatta. Its dominant, gold medal-winning performance was as expected as it was impressive. This season, a more under-the-radar program has an even bigger goal in mind for the 2010 championships.
Sixteen of the best women's rowing programs, including three from the Ivy League, have made their way to the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif., for the 2010 NCAA Championships, a three-day regatta for only open rowing; the lightweight women and both men's programs will compete for national championships next weekend at the IRA regatta in Cherry Hill, N.J.
While the IRA championships, as the EAWRC one did two weeks earlier, crown the top varsity eight in the regatta, the NCAA championship will be awarded to the program with the best aggregate score from its three boats: a varsity eight, a second varsity eight and a varsity four. Princeton is one of a select few programs that has qualified for every NCAA competition since the inaugural one in 1997, and it has won two individual titles (the 1997 second varsity and the 2006 first varsity).
But it has never walked away with the top prize, although this year may be its best shot in its 14 attempts. Princeton has one second-place team finish (1997) and one third-place finish (2006), but the top spot on the podium is the one on the minds of co-captains Ariel Frost and Sara Hendershot, as well as the rest of the Princeton squad.
Princeton enters the weekend ranked second in the latest USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coaches' Poll, a poll that factors in each of the top three boats. The Tigers have been a Top 10 program all season, although it has climbed steadily from No. 8 to No. 2 throughout a brilliant regular season.
That season began March 27, when Princeton knocked off a pair of Top 10 programs in Brown and Ohio State. That would be the start of a perfect regular season for the first varsity, which went 12-0 and included wins over No. 1 Virginia and eventual EAWRC and Ivy League champion Yale. The Bulldogs edged Princeton by less than one second two weeks ago at the Eastern championships; those two beat the rest of a deep field by more than 10 seconds.
And while the varsity eight is expected to contend for Sunday's 11:45 a.m. PST grand final, it is the overall depth of Princeton's program that is the cause for optimism this weekend. Since a season-opening loss to Brown, the Tiger second varsity has been perfect. After 11 straight regular-season wins, Princeton defeated Brown by nearly five seconds in the EAWRC final to win gold.
The varsity four went 9-3 during the regular season and managed to get back on the medal stand with a third-place finish in the EAWRC final. Brown was the clear power in that race, while Yale held off Princeton for second.
Princeton will race this weekend with the same lineups (available below) this weekend and will likely need to qualify each into Sunday's respective grand finals to have a real shot at the national team championship. For the sake of comparison, 2009 NCAA champion Stanford qualified each of its three boats in grand finals and won the varsity eight competition; the next three teams in the final standings (#2 California, #3 Yale and #4 Virginia) were the other three programs to qualify a grand finalist in each event.
Racing begins Friday; all start times can be found by clicking here. GoPrincetonTigers.com will have daily recaps as the Tigers go for their first NCAA team championship in open crew.
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