Princeton University Athletics
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Men?s Lightweights Get Added Home Date Saturday, Will Face Top-10 Pair
April 01, 2015 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
The gap between the Princeton and Columbia men's lightweight boats last season was approximately eight seconds. That seems like a lot.
Of course, that is the total gap of four races. All of the sudden, it's not so much. One of the races was decided by more than five seconds.
So the other three … yes, they were something to see.
Fifth-ranked Princeton and third-ranked Columbia will renew their rivalry, as well as open their Ivy League seasons, Saturday morning on Lake Carnegie. The race will be part of the Murtaugh Cup regatta with seventh-ranked Navy; that race had been scheduled to take place in Annapolis, but the conditions of the Severn River forced the races to be moved to Princeton.
Considering this is now Princeton's only home race in April, the Tigers will take it. The races are scheduled for the afternoon, with a 5V race to open the regatta at 2:30 pm. The races will follow every 15 minutes, with the varsity eight showdown scheduled for 3:30 pm. (All times are subject to change)
Princeton opened its season in impressive fashion last weekend, retaining the Fosburgh Cup by 20 seconds over Georgetown. The Tigers won each race during the season-opening regatta, but they know the challenge will go up significantly this weekend.
“It was great to start off the season with a win [last weekend],” junior Isaiah Brown said. “Columbia is definitely a good measuring stick. They are a strong team that showed a lot of depth last year so I expect them to be very fast.
“A win would be a great launching pad for the rest of the season and I know we all want to avenge our close loss a year ago,” he added.
The first of four meetings between the two programs happened during the Murtaugh Cup regatta, when Columbia edged Princeton by .1 of a second. The Lions won by just over two seconds in the regular season finale, but Princeton had an impressive response at the Eastern Sprints two weeks later; the Tigers edged Columbia by a quarter of a second to claim the final spot on the medal stand.
The last race of the season between the two was the most disappointing, as Columbia took the final spot on the IRA medal stand, topping Princeton by more than five seconds on Lake Mercer.
Navy is not to be taken lightly in this race either, and it will be familiar with the course. The Midshipmen nearly upset second-ranked Yale last weekend in a regatta held on Lake Carnegie.
This is the eighth year of the Murtaugh Cup regatta. Navy won the inaugural event in 2008, but Princeton has won the last six, including a victory by 10.1 seconds last year.
SATURDAY RACING SCHEDULE
| 2:30 | 5V | Navy, Princeton |
| 2:45 | 4V | Navy, Princeton |
| 3:00 | 3V | Navy, Princeton, Columbia |
| 3:15 | 2V | Navy, Princeton, Columbia |
| 3:30 | 1V | Navy, Princeton, Columbia |