Princeton University
IRA Championships
Players Mentioned
Men's Lightweights Place Fifth At IRAs; Class Of '11 Concludes Historic Run
June 04, 2011 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
Princeton opened championship Saturday at the IRA national regatta with an impressive semifinal heat, placing second overall and falling to Harvard by just over one second. It seemed to set up another showdown between the Tigers and the Crimson, just as there had been in the 2010 final.
Instead, the Tigers fell out of the title chase early on, and the final sprint was between Yale and Harvard. The Bulldogs rallied late to win in 5:39.90, while Harvard took second in 5:39.93. Dartmouth was a strong third, while Princeton finished fifth in 5:49.25.
"I thought they were ready to go for the championship final," head coach Marty Crotty said afterwards. "It's still a little soon after the race, so I'm still a little baffled. I know the lead crews were going pretty fast. 5:39 in these conditions is really fast. We just weren't able to hold on to the pace. Once you lose connection to the pace, it's tough being out there all by yourself."
While it was not the end Princeton hoped for, members of the graduating class leave with far more gold medals than any other school in the sport. Princeton won the 2009 and 2010 EARC and IRA championships, and it spent much of this season ranked first nationally.
"This is the final chapter for four seniors (Nick Donald, Christian Klein, Mike Perl and Robin Prendes) in that boat," Crotty said. "The only message I had after the race was, as disappointed as they are in the result of this race, they've had a pretty awesome career. It's a pretty historic run they've been on, and the Class of 2011 will be remembered for the four triumphs they did have."
The Princeton varsity four also competed in the grand final and placed second to Harvard by about four seconds. The Crimson won in 6:28.56, while Princeton placed second in 6:32.64. The Tigers held off Cornell by .21 of a second to claim the silver medal.
VARSITY EIGHT GRAND FINAL
1 Yale 5:39.90
2 Harvard 5:39.93
3 Dartmouth 5:41.86
4 Cornell 5:46.31
5 Princeton 5:49.25
6 Columbia 5:53.34
VARSITY FOUR GRAND FINAL
1 Harvard 6:28.56
2 Princeton 6:32.64
3 Cornell 6:32.85
4 Yale 6:37.11
5 Navy 6:38.42
PRINCETON FIRST VARSITY LINEUP
Cox: Mike Perl; Stroke: Robin Prendes; 7: Derek Porter; 6: Hugh Kohl; 5: Gordon Eccles; 4: Tyler Nase; 3: Gianthomas Volpe; 2: Christian Klein; Bow: Nick Donald.