Princeton University
St. Mary's
Women's Lights Sweep Pair Of Gold Medalists During Perfect Opening Weekend
March 27, 2011 | Women's Rowing - Lightweight
The first weekend of the 2011 Princeton women's lightweight season turned out to be a special one for the Tigers. Head coach Paul Rassam's crew won three first varsity races at the PAC-10 Women's Challenge, including one over reigning EAWRC champion Wisconsin and the final one over reigning IRA national champion Stanford.
The Princeton first varsity opened the competition in Redwood Shores, Calif., with a 12.4-second victory over St. Mary's. Princeton won the race in 7:06.3, which would be the best time of any boat during the morning session; the Tiger race followed a showdown between IRA champion Stanford and Wisconsin, won by the Cardinal in 7:07.9.
The Princeton 2V also picked up a morning win, topping St. Mary's in 7:25.1 for a winning edge of nearly 25 seconds.
Princeton's first big race of the weekend came after lunch, as it took on Wisconsin and won in impressive fashion. Princeton won in 7:19.3, while Wisconsin finished second in 7:30.2. Wisconsin did come back to win the 2V in 8:23.1, while Princeton finished in 8:39.3.
Princeton completed the perfect weekend with a Sunday sweep of Stanford. The first varsity topped Stanford by more than 11 seconds with a winning time of 6:43.6 (Stanford finished in 6:54.9), while the 2V rallied in the closest race of the weekend to top the Cardinal 2V by less than a second. The Princeton 2V finished their winning weekend in 7:23.8, while Stanford finished in 7:24.3.
The first varsity finish against Stanford was the fastest winning time in the event history.
It was a perfect foundation for a program building off a pair of medals during the 2010 postseason, but as Rassam notes, the biggest races are still to come.
"We are pleased with the way our squad competed this weekend," Rassam said. "It is obviously a thrilling way to start the year. But we have a lot of respect for our opponents and know that we have a long haul ahead of us. We are excited to get back to training and working to improve."