Princeton University Athletics
No. 1 Men's Lights Head Into H-Y-P Weekend With Plenty At Stake
April 28, 2011 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
The last time that the Princeton men's lightweight crew lost, the Goldthwait Cup was up for grabs, and No. 2 Harvard was the one finishing first. Once again, the top two teams in the country, along with No. 4 Yale, will compete for both the Vogel and Goldthwait Cups when the prestigious rowing trio meets on the Charles River.
Both No. 1 Princeton and No. 2 Harvard are undefeated this season, while Yale's only loss came by less than three seconds to third-ranked Dartmouth last weekend. Both Princeton and Harvard have split the last two Goldthwait Cups, awarded to the winner of the varsity eight race; the Crimson ended a 20-race Princeton win streak last season by topping the Tigers by .7 of a second, although Princeton bounced back to win both the EARC and IRA national championships over the next month.
Harvard holds the all-time lead in the Goldthwait Cup series with 41 victories, while Princeton stands second with 25. Yale, which is looking for its first win since 2006, has won 19. The Crimson swept both the Goldthwait and Vogel Cups last season; the Vogel Cup goes to the winner of the overall team points competition.
Princeton has already achieved remarkable success on the Charles River this academic year. During its fall racing season, Princeton broke a 13-year course record by more than 12 seconds to win the 2010 Head of the Charles competition. Princeton hasn't lost since, concluding the fall with a win at the Princeton Chase and then going 7-0 to open the 2011 season, including last weekend's wins over both Penn and Georgetown. A sweep this weekend would give Princeton its second undefeated season since 2000 and its first nine-win season since 1999.
This is the final regular season competition, so final seedings for the May 15 EARC Championships are also on the line for Princeton. The undefeated 2V is currently the top seed in the EARC, though both Yale and Harvard are also in the top four. Yale is the current top seed in the third varsity and novice eight, with Princeton ranked third and fourth in both, respectively.
Vogel and Goldthwait Cups
7:24 a.m. • 2F
7:48 a.m. • 3V
8:12 a.m. • 1F
8:36 a.m. • 2V
9:12 a.m. • 1V – The Goldthwait Cup