Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Wood-Hammond Cup: Penn w/ Georgetown
Players Mentioned
No. 3 Men's Lights Top Penn, Retain Wood-Hammond For 10th Straight Year
April 18, 2015 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
They achieved that goal in impressive fashion Saturday morning during beautiful conditions on the Schuylkill River. Princeton won the Wood-Hammond Trophy for a 10th straight season with a victory of nearly six seconds on Penn. The Tigers won in 5:44.8, while Penn finished second in 5:50.7. Georgetown rounded out the field in 6:02.3.
"We were off the line clean and immediately started to move on Georgetown and Penn," junior Cameron Howie said. "Throughout the race we continued to gradually take seats from either boat, and we responded very well to both teams' attempts to cut into the lead. It was a clean execution that all nine of us were happy with. The conditions were by far the best we've had this year, which made racing a lot more fun, even though it wasn't as exciting as last weekend."
Princeton moved to 4-2 on the season and feels good about its potential down the road, especially with Eastern Sprints only four weeks away.
"Columbia and Cornell were both tough losses, but I feel that we were able to take away from both races," Howie said. "We were able to hang with Cornell, and even be a seat up, for a long portion of the race, but we were unable to execute when it came down to it. After Columbia, that race reminded us that we are still very much in contention for a gold at Sprints and IRAs. We knew that Penn was going to come at us with everything they had this weekend, so we weren't sure what to expect from a young team. Getting the win was great, but we need to keep focused on what is coming up, starting with HYP next weekend."
It was a strong day for Princeton's top three eights. The second varsity topped Penn by nearly nine seconds in 5:55.2, while the third varsity finished in 5:58.7 for a winning margin of more than 27 seconds. The Penn freshman eight earned a win over the Tiger 4V, while Georgetown earned victory in a fours showdown.
As Howie mentioned, the Tigers will head to the Housatonic River to compete against both Harvard and Yale next weekend for the Goldthwait and Vogel Cups. The men's lightweights are the only team to have an H-Y-P weekend, and Princeton had a perfect morning on the Charles River last season.
Of course, the ultimate test will come at the Eastern Sprints, when all three of those boats will try to unseat both Cornell and Columbia for Ivy League supremacy.
"I believe that we are right where we need to be this season," Howie said. "Cornell and Columbia are crews that have been training their 1V lineups for a long time, and I believe that the marginal benefit that we get from each session has the potential to be larger than theirs. Winning the Jope and IRAs will not be easy, but we definitely have the personnel, coaches, and mentality to do it."
Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:44.8
Penn 5:50.7
Georgetown 6:02.3
Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:55.2
Penn 6:04.9
Georgetown 6:18.9
Varsity Four
Georgetown 7:12.7
Princeton 7:16.4
Penn 7:49.7
Third Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:58.7
Penn 6:25.9
Georgetown 6:29.4
Fourth Varsity Eight
Penn 1F 6:05.9
Princeton 4V 6:16.0
Princeton 5V 6:28.9