Princeton University Athletics
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EAWRC Champion Princeton Heads West Seeking NCAA Championship Gold
May 25, 2011 | Women's Rowing - Open
PRINCETON NOTES PACKET l SCHEDULE/LIVE RESULTS l CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Princeton has done everything it could possibly do far during the 2011 open crew season. From its perfect regular season to its four EAWRC championships, it has been something of a dream season for Lori Dauphiny's squad. Now it looks for the exclamation point on its year as it competes in this weekend's NCAA Championship regatta at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center.
Princeton is one of 16 teams competiting in the NCAA Championships, which begin Friday, May 27 and continue through Sunday, May 29. The Tigers, one of three teams to be invited to every NCAA Championship regatta since the inaugural event in 1997, are the top-ranked team in the nation and will be seeking their first NCAA title.
Unlike the EAWRC Championships, or the IRA national championships for the other rowing leagues, the NCAA Championships is not awarded based solely on the winner of the varsity eight competition. Instead, a combined point total from each program's top three boats (varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four) will be used to determine the national champion. The varsity eight competition is worth the most points, followed by the second varsity eight and the varsity four. Each boat will open with heats on Friday, then compete in semifinals on Saturday and finals on Sunday. A full schedule can be found here or by downloading the notes packet at the top of the story; the notes packet includes weekend lineup, season results for all three boats and Princeton's history at the NCAA Championships.
Points are awarded for each team's final finish in Sunday's finals. The varsity eight winner earns 48 team points; every other team earns a multiple of three points based on its overall finish. Thus, the second-place team earns 45, the third-place team earns 42, etc. The second-varsity eight uses the same system, only with a multiple of two points, so the winner earns 32, the second-place team earns 30, etc. The varsity four earns one point per spot, with the winning team earning 16 points.
Hence, a program that swept all three titles would score 96 points and would cruise home with NCAA gold. Over the last decade, the two highest team scores have been 88 (Stanford, 2009) and 87 (Virginia, 87). Princeton has medalled three times at the NCAA Championships, including third-place finishes in both 2006 and 2010. Princeton took second in the inaugural event in 1997, falling only to Dauphiny's alma mater, Washington.
Princeton brings arguably its deepest team ever to the NCAA Championships, as its three boats went a combined 35-4 during the regular season and swept all three golds at the EAWRC Championships two weeks ago.
PRINCETON NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
Guess Who's Back
For the 15th straight season, the Princeton open crew will be competing in the NCAA Championship regatta. Since the inaugural NCAA Championship regatta in 1997, Princeton is one of three teams which has been in the event each time (Brown and Washington are the others). Princeton has placed in the top five six times and has earned a spot on the medal stand three times; the Tigers placed second in 1997 and third in both 2006 and 2010.
Top Of The Charts
After earning a preseason No. 2 national ranking, Princeton has been ranked at the top of the USRowing/CRCA Women's Collegiate Rowing national poll every week since March 30. The Tigers shared the top spot with California on May 4, but they were back alone atop the May 18 poll following their four victories (V8, 2V, V4, 3V) at the EAWRC Championships.
The Streak Is On
Princeton hasn't snuck up on anybody this season. The Tigers were ranked No. 1 through much of the 2010 season and placed third both as a team and in the varsity eight competition at last year's NCAA Championships. Princeton has won 27 straight regular season races, including 13 wins this season. Seven of Princeton's 13 wins this year have come against NCAA Championship qualifiers (Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Michigan State, Ohio State, Virginia, Yale).
Three Pointer
Princeton has gotten terrific performances from each of its three NCAA boats this season. Both the varsity eight and the second varsity were 13-0 during the regular season, and both won their respective EAWRC finals by at least three seconds. The varsity four went 9-4, but it topped Brown by more than 3.5 seconds to win the EAWRC grand final.
Five Alive
Princeton returns five rowers from the 2010 varsity eight that won bronze at the NCAA Championships into the 2011 varsity eight: Ashton Brown, Molly Hamrick, Emily Reynolds, Michaela Strand and Lauren Wilkinson.
Fond Memories
This is the fifth anniversary of Princeton's last NCAA champion and one of the finest boats in collegiate history. The 2006 Tiger varsity eight, led by eventual Olympic gold medalist Caroline Lind, won the NCAA final by 6.4 seconds over California.
Leading The Way
Princeton head coach Lori Dauphiny is the winningest coach in the history of Tiger rowing, which includes both a men's heavyweight and lightweight program and a women's open and lightweight program. Dauphiny has a career record of 159-18 (.898) in this, her 15th season at Princeton, and she has led the Tigers to the NCAA Championship in every year of her tenure.
Dauphiny has led Princeton to four EAWRC titles, including one two weeks ago, and has led the Tigers on a current streak of 27 straight regular season wins. A multiple-time Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year, Dauphiny has also coached with the national program while helping place numerous Princeton rowers into international competitions. One of her most impressive competitors in 15 years was Caroline Lind, who led the 2006 Princeton V8 to NCAA gold and followed by leading the U.S. 8+ to gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Dauphiny was named Woman of the Year by USRowing in 2006, an award given in recognition of outstanding contributions to women's rowing.
History Lesson
Princeton won four team national championships before women's rowing became an official NCAA sport. The Tigers won the National Collegiate Rowing Championships in 1990 under Curtis Jordan, later a national championship coach with the Princeton men's heavyweights, and then three straight times between 1993-1995 under Dan Roock, now the head coach of the Dartmouth men's lightweights. Jordan is the second-winningest coach in Princeton open crew history, although his 55 victories is more than 100 behind the current total of 159 earned by Dauphiny.