Princeton University Athletics
Top-Ranked Tigers Eye Unfinished Business At EAWRC/Ivy Championships
May 12, 2011 | Women's Rowing - Open
FULL RACING SCHEDULE l DIRECTIONS TO COOPER RIVER
The Princeton open crew has experienced a lot of 'been there, done that' during a wildly successful 2011 season. Without question, the undefeated record and the top national ranking were both terrific accomplishments, but Princeton has been preparing for this weekend since its oars first touched water this academic year.
After all, the 2010 Princeton crew had also climbed to the top of the national rankings after a perfect season of its own. But one of the biggest prizes fell by the wayside by a mere .77 of a second.
That was the margin of victory for Yale over Princeton in last year's Eastern/Ivy League final, and it will be the margin Princeton desperately wants to avenge when the 2011 EAWRC Championships return to Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., this Sunday.
While the EAWRC Championships will crown champions in five different competitions (three varsity eights and two varsity fours), the biggest prize of all is the Governor's Cup, which goes to the winner of the first varsity eight grand final. That boat is crowned Eastern champion and, assuming it is among the Ancient Eight, is also named Ivy League champion.
Princeton earned the top seed after going 13-0 in the regular season, including a 9-0 mark against EAWRC opponents. Head coach Lori Dauphiny, who holds a 159-18 regular season record in her 15 years as head coach, knows that won't mean anything when Sunday's competition begins on Cooper River.
"We are taking nothing for granted," said Dauphiny, who also led Princeton to a bronze medal at the 2010 NCAA Championships. "Last year is an obvious example of that. It's a new ballgame, and while our season has given us confidence, we know we need to continue improving. As always, we expect a fierce battle. Our competition will be very good."
There are numerous boats to watch for in the field, including a second-seeded Brown boat that has run the table since losing to Princeton in a tough season-opening race. Harvard had a tough race against Princeton on April 9, but that has been a consistent boat, and nobody needs to remind Princeton of what Yale can do in the postseason; the Bulldogs followed their 2010 EAWRC title by winning the NCAA varsity eight competition.
To advance to the championship final, Princeton will need a Top-2 finish in its semifinal heat, which is scheduled to go off at 8:40 a.m. The Tigers will see Boston University, Dartmouth, Columbia and Syracuse in that heat. A full racing schedule, as well as all semifinal heat lane assignments, can be found by clicking on the link above.
While the second varsity eight and varsity four will play a far bigger role at the 2011 NCAA Championships, held Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento, both of those boats have high aspirations for Eastern titles this weekend.
The second varsity has been equally as impressive as the first varsity, recording a 13-0 season and matching the nine victories against EAWRC boats. Two of its closest calls came against the two boats seeded just behind the top-ranked Tigers; second-seeded Brown fell to Princeton by four seconds in the season opener, while third-seeded Yale fell by only three seconds.
"People are always adjusting their 2V lineups, so there is a lot of room for improvement," Dauphiny said. "Especially Brown, since we haven't seen them since the first weekend. The 2V will have a tough challenge."
The Princeton varsity 4A is seeded second behind Brown, a team the Tigers defeated by 2.2 seconds in the regular season. No Eastern 4 went undefeated, as Princeton lost a close race to fifth-seeded Cornell and by open water to third-seeded Yale. Overall, the Tiger 4A went 9-4 on the season and 5-2 against the Ivy League.
The Princeton 3V is also the second seed, trailing only Brown in that field. The Tigers lost to Brown by more than 14 seconds in the regular season opener, but went on to win their next eight races, including a win over third-seeded Yale by more than five seconds.
The Princeton 4B has the least experience in the field, with only two races against Eastern opponents. The third-seeded Tigers lost to second-seeded Cornell and topped fourth-seeded Penn.