Princeton University
Delaware, Columbia and Mercyhurst
Players Mentioned
Men's Lights Honor Seniors, Claim Three Of Four Races vs. Columbia
May 02, 2015 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
The Princeton men's lightweight rowing team cut deeply into its previous losing margin to Columbia during its final row of the season on Lake Carnegie. While the Tigers would have loved to do even more, especially claim a victory over the Lions, they know that the biggest goals of the season remain within their reach.
Princeton defeated two of its three opponents in the varsity eight showdown Saturday morning, but it was third-ranked Columbia that held off the Tigers by 3.6 seconds to win the main showdown. The Lions had defeated Princeton by more than nine seconds during the regular season, so there was clear improvement, but head coach Marty Crotty was hoping for even more in those 2,000 meters.
"The boat has been going much much better in all of our workouts for the last two weeks but I think today we didn't stay true to what we've been working on, and what has been going pretty well for us," Crotty said. "We allowed Columbia's early slight margin take us away from what we've doing best, and lost a chance to race them to the line in the second half of the race.
"We will be working very hard in the next two weeks to take the next step, to move in front of Columbia and potentially to the front of the pack at Sprints," Crotty added.
Despite the loss, Princeton will close its regular season with an 8-3 record after topping Delaware by more than six seconds and Mercyhurst by more than 10. The Tigers' only three losses have come to either reigning national champion Cornell or Columbia, so the Orange and Black should have the third seed clinched for Sprints.
The rest of the Princeton boats performed brilliantly during a clear Saturday morning. The second varsity finished in 6:02.3 to top Columbia by 5.5 seconds, while the 3V went in 6:06.2 to win by 3.3 seconds. The 4V (6:21.1) topped Delaware by nearly eight full seconds.
"I thought the 2V and 3V did stay true to rowing their base speed very well and under control," Crotty said. "Despite Columbia taking early margins on us, we hung there, didn't panic and rowed away from them in the second 1000. It was really a perfect rehearsal from the Sprints in two weeks. No doubt all of our crews will have to stay strong under immense pressure from a tight field to be able to win the race in the last 500."
While Sprints will now be the full focus for the next two weeks, Crotty also acknowledged the tremendous impact of his senior class (pictured, above), which rowed for the final time on Lake Carnegie Saturday morning.
"It was the perfect day for our seniors to be able to row down the Carnegie race course in uniform one last time," Crotty said. "Idyllic conditions, picture perfect. Our seniors have been tremendous leaders in every facet. Day to day training, the classroom, on campus in some noteworthy councils, everywhere. They've created what I think is a formula for success, even though we weren't able to be perfect today. They are definitely leaving the underpinnings of success for the three classes to follow and a void for the Class of 2019 to have to work very very hard to fill next year."
The Princeton Class of 2015 consists of Karthik Dhore, William Downing, Matt Drabick, Jason Elefant, Fabrizio Filho, Andrew Frazier, Steve Swanson, and captain Casey Ward,
Varsity Eight
Columbia 5:52.2
Princeton 5:55.8
Delaware 6:02.4
Mercyhurst 6.06.2
Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:02.3
Columbia 6:07.8
Delaware 6:14.7
Mercyhurst 6:20.2
Third Varsity Eight & First Freshmen Eight
Princeton 3v 6:06.2
Columbia 3v 6:08.5
Delaware 1st Freshmen 6:16.5
Fourth & Fifth Varsity Eight
Princeton 4v 6:21.1
Delaware 6:29.0
Princeton 5v 6:33.5