Princeton University
EARC Sprints
Players Mentioned
Heavyweights Rally For Silver At EARC Champs; Freshman 8 Also Gets Silver
May 15, 2011 | Heavyweight Rowing
During rainy but fair racing conditions on Lake Quinsigamond, the Princeton varsity eight used a late surge to move past Wisconsin in a photo finish and place second in the Eastern grand final. Top-seeded Harvard won the event, but the members of the Princeton V8 will earn second-team All-Ivy League honors following its strong finish.
“The guys rowed great,” Hughes said afterwards. “We just wanted to get in the race and go hard. They read the situation and rise to it. Throughout the different scenarios, they just raced hard.”
Princeton defeated Boston University by nearly two seconds in the third semifinal heat to earn a place in the grand final. Second-seeded Wisconsin went out hard, but Harvard was the clear frontrunner by the middle of the race and never let go of that control. For a time, it appeared Wisconsin and Brown would be the two battling for silver.
But Princeton, that bunch of racers that has moved from 13th at the 2009 EARC Championships to back-to-back runner-up finishes, made the biggest late press and moved past both. Harvard won in 5:40.39, while Princeton edged Wisconsin for second in 5:42.37. The Badgers held off Brown for the bronze in 5:42.51.
The Princeton 2V came into its grand final looking to avenge its only loss of the season, which came in mid-April to top-seeded Harvard. After edging Yale by less than one second in its semifinal, Princeton came into its grand final with plans of immediately establishing itself as a top contender.
The Tigers were out immediately in the final and were neck-and-neck with Wisconsin for the lead throughout much of the opening 500 meters. Top-seeded Harvard didn't panic and quickly pushed past both and into the lead by the middle of the race. The Crimson took control in the second half of the race, while Wisconsin established itself as a strong second. The bronze medal came down to Princeton and Syracuse, which used a strong third split to gain a three-seat edge on the Tigers.
Princeton pressed once more and cut into the deficit, but the Orange had one more charge left and held off the Tigers for third. Princeton placed fourth in 5:54.33, just over a second behind Syracuse. Harvard won the race in 5:49.01.
“That was an awesome race,” Hughes said. “We haven't medaled in this event since 2005, and for them to step up and get that close, I was really pumped to see that.”
The freshman eight matched its impressive 2011 season with a silver medal in the EARC grand final. The Tigers had gone 8-1 on the regular season, with their lone loss coming by about six seconds to top-seeded Harvard. In Sunday's grand final, Princeton topped the rest of the field, but fell to Harvard by about six seconds.
Harvard left the field early and won the gold in 5:54.52, while Princeton fought off both Northeastern and Navy to take the silver medal in 6:00.42. There was plenty of drama in the race for both silver and bronze, but Princeton clinched the silver with a late push past its two non-Ivy rivals.
“That was another great race,” Hughes said. “I'm excited to get those guys next year. I really think we're building something special here. Our 3V had its best race of the year as well. Overall, I think it was a good day to be a Tiger.”
The third varsity earned a spot in the grand final by the slimmest of margins, topping Yale by .005 of a second to earn the final spot. Princeton would not be able to make a jump to the medal stand, as its finish in 6:18.291 would leave the Tigers sixth in the grand final.
Varsity Eight Grand Final
1) Harvard – 5:40.39
2) Princeton – 5:42.37
3) Wisconsin – 5:42.51
4) Brown – 5:43.60
5) Syracuse – 5:47.10
6) Boston University – 5:48.75
Second Varsity Grand Final
1) Harvard – 5:49.01
2) Wisconsin – 5:52.53
3) Syracuse – 5:53.18
4) Princeton – 5:54.33
5) Brown – 5:57.32
6) Yale – 5:58.99
Freshman Eight Grand Final
1) Harvard 5:54.52
2) Princeton 6:00.42
3) Northeastern 6:02.53
4) Navy 6:03.70
5) Cornell 6:05.98
6) Boston Univ. 6:06.18
Third Varsity Grand Final
1) Wisconsin – 5:53.37
2) Harvard – 5:55.40
3) Cornell – 6:00.79
4) Brown – 6:04.39
5) Navy – 6:10.53
6) Princeton – 6:18.29
C: James Connolly
S: Ian Silveira
7: Michael Evans
6: Brian Wettach
5: Jack Lindeman
4: Blake Parsons
3: Philip Thalheim
2: Michael Protesto
B: Carl Thunman