Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Day Two
Varsity Eight To Row For NCAA Gold In Bittersweet Semifinal Saturday
May 28, 2011 | Women's Rowing - Open
SATURDAY RESULTS/SUNDAY SCHEDULE l WATCH LIVE SUNDAY
The top-ranked Princeton varsity eight will row in the final race of the 2011 season Sunday when it competes for gold in the grand final of the NCAA Championship regatta. While that individual gold is on the line for Princeton, the NCAA team title hopes took a big hit in a pair of heartbreakingly close semifinals.
The varsity eight took care of business in the first of two semifinals at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. Needing a top-three finish to reach the championship final, Princeton sprinted out of the gates and held a nearly two-second lead on the field through 500 meters. By the 1,000-meter mark, the lead was still nearly two seconds over the field, and it was more than seven seconds ahead of fourth-place Virginia.
With its spot in the grand final all but guaranteed at that point, Princeton posted its slowest of four splits to let USC right back in the race; the Trojans ended up winning the semifinal in 6:26.60, while Princeton took second in 6:28.34. That time was more than nine seconds faster than fourth-place Washington (Cal took third in 6:31.04), so the Tigers' spot in the grand final was never in jeopardy late in the race.
The EAWRC champion Princeton V8 will now face USC, California, Stanford, Brown and Michigan State in the grand final Sunday at 12:05 p.m. PDT. Princeton went 13-0 during the regular season, including wins over both Brown and Michigan State, but all six boats know that anything can happen in the span of one race. The Tigers will be looking for their first individual NCAA gold since 2006, when the Princeton V8 cruised to an open water victory on Mercer Lake.
That individual gold is in Princeton's control, but the team championship is not. The Princeton 2V8 and V4 both missed their respective grand finals by one spot, and in the case of the 2V8, the margin was less than a tenth of a second.
The 2V8, also undefeated on the regular season and an EAWRC gold medalist, was locked in a battle with USC for third place almost at the start. Brown and Virginia were impressive throughout and held more than a two-second edge on the field halfway through the race. That advantage grew to three seconds with 500 meters remaining, so all eyes were locked on the duel between Princeton and USC. The Tigers, in Lane 4, led USC by by .38 of a second going into the final split. The Trojans' final 500 was the best in the field, and that led them to a finishing time of 6:42.04; Princeton finished agonizingly close to USC, but its time of 6:42.08 relegated the Tigers to the petite final (10:55 a.m. PDT).
The varsity four came into the championship weekend on the momentum of a championship effort during EAWRCs, but it will not get that same opportunity at NCAAs. Princeton was in third through 500, but a trio of Western powers held the top three spots by the midway point of the race. Both California and USC were in cruise control at the end, leaving Princeton to try chasing down Washington for the final spot in the grand final. The Huskies wouldn't give up the lead and placed third in 7:28.13, while Princeton took fourth in 7:29.16. The Tigers will compete in the petite final at 10:05 a.m. PDT.
The highest team point total Princeton can now score is 78, which would be nine points off Virginia's winning score last year. The PAC-10 has three programs with three grand finalists (Cal, USC and Stanford), so the NCAA champion is most likely to come from that trio.