Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Light Men Look For Historic Three-Peat In EARC Championship Regatta
May 13, 2011 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
LIVE VIDEO l LIVE AUDIO l RACING SCHEDULE
For the second straight season, the Princeton men's lightweight crew comes into the EARC Championships as the hunter, not the hunted. Based on last year's results, it's a role Princeton is fully capable of handling.
The second-ranked Princeton Tigers will head to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., Sunday to compete in the 2011 EARC/Ivy League Championships. Despite having one of the most prestigious traditions in the sport, Princeton is looking to achieve an unprecedented feat Sunday; despite winning 15 Eastern titles overall, Princeton has never won three consecutive EARC titles.
The Tigers won the title in 2009 during a perfect year, including wins at IRA and Henley. They won the title last year, despite dropping the regular season finale to Harvard.
This year, head coach Marty Crotty will be looking for a little of that 2010 magic.
Unbeaten Harvard comes in as the top seed after defeating Princeton for the Goldthwait Cup by one second two weeks ago. Last year, the Crimson won that same race by .7 of a second, but Princeton bounced back to win the EARC title by more than two seconds.
You would think that Princeton would lean heavily on that result for this season, but this experience-rich team knows a result one year ago will have no bearing on this upcoming regatta.
"Although the results from the season this year are similar to last year's, we aren't really thinking of that," said senior Nick Donald. "Every season is very different. It's a new lineup with new and different things to work on and we are just focusing on making this lineup as fast as possible.
"As is always the case, but especially this year, our league is extremely competitive," Donald added. "The only aspect from last season that we're taking into sprints this year is the knowledge of how fast our competitors will be and the work ethic that allowed us to finish on top last year."
Proof that the field goes far deeper than just Princeton and Harvard can be found in the IRA national final last year, when Navy surged past Harvard in the grand final and was within one second of Princeton for the national title.
Even more proof can be found in this season's results, as Princeton had to fight hard to earn an impressive 8-1 record. Four of those victories came by less than five seconds, and Princeton didn't even meet the third-seeded Dartmouth Big Green during the regular season.
But while the field presents plenty of challenges, there is also plenty of reason to believe in this Princeton crew. Led by senior captain Robin Prendes, the stroke for both the 2009 and 2010 national champion, Princeton has had more than its fair share of impressive performances, including a record-smashing win at the Head of the Charles last fall.
"Training has been going well, and we're feeling good," Donald said. "The two weeks between HYP's and Sprints with no races has given us a chance to put in some really good work. Every guy on this team, from our boat to the three other varsity boats and the freshmen, is going to have to battle hard this weekend, especially with so many competitive boats in there. We're looking to go out there on Sunday and have our best race of the season so far."
Princeton will see Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgetown and MIT in its 12 p.m. semifinal heat, with the top three finishers earning a spot in the 5:31 grand final.
The Tiger 2V went 7-1 on the season and lost only to Harvard in a race decided by fewer than two seconds.
The novice eight comes in as the third seed in a well-balanced field. The Tigers fell to top-seeded Yale by .4 of a second, defeated second-seeded Columbia by five seconds and lost to fourth-seeded Cornell by less than three seconds. That field could be the most wide open among a competition annually noted for its overall depth.