Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Semifinal
Players Mentioned
Women's Lightweights Return To Medal Stand At IRA Championships
June 05, 2010 | Women's Rowing - Lightweight
It had been a rough stretch of IRA championship regattas for the Princeton women's lightweights, but senior co-captain Justine Hausheer was not about to let her career end by continuing that stretch. The Tigers posted a strong grand final to place third and dominate the rest of the East Coast crews in the final race of the 2010 season.
Princeton pushed hard from the start in attempt to stay with favorites Wisconsin and Stanford; for a while, Princeton was even with multiple-time champion Wisconsin. In the end, both the Cardinal and Badgers proved to be too much and battled each other for the title, but the Tigers were not about to let this medal get away. Stanford ended Wisconsin's reign in 6:28.21, while the Badgers placed second in 6:32.02. Princeton knew it had to hold off Radcliffe, Bucknell and Georgetown to clinch third, and it did so impressively.
Princeton earned the bronze medal in 6:36.78, topping fourth-place Radcliffe by nearly seven full seconds. Bucknell took fifth, while Georgetown ended sixth.
"I'm really proud of the way we raced today," said head coach Paul Rassam. "We didn't race tentative today. The key was to be aggressive and get our top boat speed, and I think we did that. We lost to two faster boats, but that is nothing to be ashamed of."
Princeton, which also got a petite final win from its varsity four, loses only a pair of seniors for next season. Hausheer was the 2010 co-captain, and her efforts and leadership were major factors in Princeton's strong finish.
"Justine doesn't just leave the program better, but she ended her career the right way," Rassam said. "She experienced a number of disappointments at this meet, and she was determined to not let it happen this year."
The 2010 IRA varsity eight included: coxswain - Yuna Sakuma; stroke - Justine Hausheer; 7 - Lauren Sykora; 6 - Emily Clonts; 5 - Emma Bedard; 4 - Caroline Clark; 3 - Alex Morss; 2 - Elena Martinez; bow - Kathryn O'Connell.
The Princeton varsity four also had a successful Saturday morning, winning the petite final. The varsity four lineup was: coxswain - Lucy Fang; stroke - Olivia Panaccio Tresham; 3 - Meghan McNulty; 2 - Ali Goedecke; 1 - Lauren Castro.
WOMEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND FINAL
1 - Stanford (6:28.21)
2 - Wisconsin (6:32.02)
3 - Princeton (6:36.78)
4 - Radcliffe (6:43.72)
5 - Bucknell (6:44.94)
6 - Georgetown (6:50.54)