Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
IRA Day 1
Players Mentioned
Heavies Take Care Of Business, Win Opening Three Heats To Move To IRA Semis
May 29, 2015 | Heavyweight Rowing
LIVE RESULTS l LIVE VIDEO l WEEKEND SCHEDULE l PRINCETON HISTORY AT IRAs
PRINCETON WEEKEND PREVIEW
Rowers in the top three Princeton boats have prepared all season for the opportunity to race on Mercer Lake at the IRA Championships this weekend. That preparation was to race Sunday, however.It wasn't to race Friday afternoon.
Princeton took care of business in the first session of the 2015 IRA National Championships Friday morning on Mercer Lake, winning all three of its opening heats to advance directly in Saturday's A/B semifinals.
The Tiger first varsity boat was the only boat in any of the V8, 2V or 3V heats to defeat the highest-seeded boat in the race. Of course, a top-two finish was all that mattered in the early heats, but it was still an impressive show of speed by the Sprints bronze medalists. Princeton topped Northeastern, the Sprints silver medalists, by 2.5 seconds in the fourth heat.
“The goal is to get to the semis and have the afternoon off,” senior Jamie Hamp said. “It was nice to execute well and beat Northeastern. The boat feels great, and it's moving well right now.”
Princeton had control from the start and never seemed in danger of falling out of the top two. The Tigers, looking for their first V8 IRA medal since a silver in 2006, will now move into the second semifinal (10:12 am) and take on Washington, Brown, Boston University, and two other teams from the afternoon reps.
“IRA semifinals is such a big day for everybody,” Hamp said. “Everybody is trying to make that final.”
Once you make that final, anything is possible. Junior Ryan Barker can attest to that.
Barker was in the Princeton 2V last year that knocked off Washington in the grand final to win a silver medal. The boat hasn't lost a race since then, including its gold medal at the Eastern Sprints two weeks ago.
“We came into IRAs last year hoping to beat Northeastern after a disappointing Sprints, and then try to chase Cal and Washington” Barker said. “When we trading blows with Cal in the semi, we thought we had some real speed. Beating Washington, one of the giants, showed what we can do.”
The 2V has been dominant all season, but it was pushed hard in back-to-back Sprints races by Boston University. The Tigers won both, and that competition likely sharpened them for this weekend. The third seed, Princeton led the whole way and comfortable topped Brown to win its heat.
“The Sprints was the first time a boat was in contact with us the whole race,” Barker said. “We're racers, so we enjoyed that feeling, and it helped make sure we keep training. We're peaking now. We've gained more speed since Sprints.”
Princeton will have its first shot at a Western power Saturday at 9:36 am when it takes on Washington, as well as Yale, Northeastern and two from the reps, in the first semifinal.
The third varsity is also coming off a gold medal at Sprints, though it did so as the second seed in the field. Its lone loss was to Cornell, and it was the Big Red who flew off the line to grab a big lead.
It just wasn't big enough.
Princeton moved past Cornell in the second half of the race, then held off a gutsy Brown push, to win the gold. For senior Ryan Meder, it was his first Sprints gold in his final opportunity, and he'd love nothing more than to follow that up with an IRA medal this weekend.
“We rowed that race with a chip on our shoulder, and we have rowed that way since then,” Meder said. “We could taste it that day, and in those final 500 meters, we rowed for the gold.”
Like the 2V, the 3V earned the third seed and topped Wisconsin by about three seconds to advance to the 9:12 semifinal against Washington, Harvard, Cornell, and two from the reps.
While they are competing for their own individual medals, a change in scoring allows the 3V to be part of the Ten Eyck Team Trophy competition. Princeton hasn't won the team points competition at IRAs since 1998; no team outside of Washington has won it since 2006.
“It was special at Sprints to contribute to the Rowe Cup victory,” Meder said. “It continues to be exciting here, and I think it helps bring the team together more. Every person matters.”
And, thanks to the morning, every person can spend their afternoon resting.
Varsity Eight
1 Princeton 5:52.280
2 Northeastern 5:54.712
3 Cornell 5:57.806
4 Dartmouth 6:00.059
5 Drexel 6:00.108
6 Hobart 6:04.871
Second Varsity
1 Princeton 6:01.143
2 Brown 6:04.552
3 Penn 6:12.342
4 Columbia 6:15.436
5 Hobart 6:19.614
Third Varsity
1 Princeton 6:04.358
2 Wisconsin 6:07.203
3 Yale 6:21.613
4 Penn 6:30.300
5 Hobart 6:45.743