Princeton University Athletics
Lightweight Men Prepare For National Championship Final
June 04, 2010 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
One year after completing the college season with a convincing victory at the 2009 IRA grand final, the Princeton men's lightweight crew will head to Cooper River Saturday morning with a single goal: a second straight national championship.
This year, though, the margin is expected to be razor thin between a slew of talented contenders.
Princeton had won 20 straight regular-season races before taking on both Harvard and Yale during The Goldthwait & Vogel Cup regatta on May 1. On that day, the second-ranked Crimson used a late surge to push past Princeton by less than one second. Two weeks later, at the EARC/Ivy League Championship regatta, Princeton returned the favor with a tight victory over the Crimson.
While Saturday's race would seem like the rubber match, numerous other contenders pose a real threat. Yale placed third at the Eastern championships, nearly topping Harvard and staying within three seconds of Princeton. Dartmouth made an impressive push to fourth, while both Navy and Penn made their way into the final. Those six, as well as Georgetown, will race for a national title tomorrow in a sport that has had its fair share of surprising results through the years.
Princeton will start in the middle of the seven-lane course, while Georgetown, Navy and Yale will take lanes 1 through 3 and Harvard, Dartmouth and Penn will take lanes 5 through 7.