Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
IRA Day 3
Players Mentioned
Heavies Medal In Top Two Races, Including V8 Bronze, To Cap Special Season
May 31, 2015 | Heavyweight Rowing
They may not be the best yet — Washington deserves that honor once again — but the Tigers have forced themselves into the conversation through hard work and gutsy racing.
The former may often be hidden in both the early and late hours at the Shea Rowing Center, but the latter was plenty apparent Sunday morning at Mercer Lake during the final day of the IRA Championships. Princeton was one of four programs to place in the top three finals at IRAs, and it topped last year's finish with a pair of medals, including a thrilling bronze for the varsity eight.
Also, the V8 and 2V8 combined to finish 3.95 seconds out of first place in their respective finals. No Eastern program combined to go under four seconds in those two IRA races since 2004.
The top Tiger boat hadn't medaled since taking silver in the 2006 IRA Championships on Cooper River, but they took care of business first thing Sunday morning.
"All the guys from this race last year, we knew that even if we had our best start of the year, we might just be level at 500, and that's what happened this year," senior coxswain Jameson Pesce said. "That happened, and it helped us stay relaxed. It was a blazing start, and it was bow balls across at 500."
No Eastern boat had won IRAs since 2005, and everybody expected Cal and Washington — which split a pair of races this season — to be fighting each other for the top spot. That duo separated from the back three boats, but it couldn't shake the Princeton boat to make it a two-team showdown.
Ultimately, Washington began to create its own separate its own space en route to a fifth straight national championship, but California found itself locked in to a showdown with Princeton for second place. Both teams traded the slimmest of leads over the final 500, but the Bears did hold on by inches to take second place.
"I felt like we went though a lot of scenarios in how it might pan out, and I think in a lot of ways it panned out as we expected," senior Tim Masters said. "We felt like Washington and Cal would have a big duel, and hopefully we could try to catch one of them by the end. We didn't quite catch Cal at the end, but I thought it was a well-executed race, and every guy went to the well. We can't ask for any more than that."
For seniors Masters, Pesce and captain Jamie Hamp, it was their first IRA medal in their final collegiate race. During their freshman season, none of the top three Princeton boats even made an IRA final. Not only do they leave with medals, but they do so knowing that the majority of those top three boats (21 of 27, including coxswains) will return with even greater goals next season.
"When I was getting recruited, I asked the heavyweight captain at the time, Jack Lindeman, to be honest with me about where this program was going," Pesce said. "He told me he was so envious of me for coming into this program at this time. It's weird to say, but I feel the same way, if not more so. Now that we have tasted some success, the guys will be setting the bar that much higher. Just seeing these guys coming in, I can't wait to follow these guys next year."
Should the future teams taste greater success, head coach Greg Hughes knows plenty of the credit will belong to this Class of 2015.
"I look at today and I give the lion's share of the credit to the senior class," he said. "This isn't a product of today. Races like this are earned a month earlier, or six months earlier, or a year earlier. Those guys did an amazing job of setting the attitude you need to be in the position to do this. It took time, and it took heart."
Much of the excitement for the future belongs to the success of the 2V, which has now not lost a race to an Eastern boat in more than a calendar year. The Eastern Sprints gold medalist Tigers repeated last year's stunning IRA silver finish with an even more exiting 2015 race.
Princeton was leader through much of the grand final, including a slim lead at the 1500-meter mark. The Tigers' blazing pace was just not enough to put away Washington, which came by the Tigers in the final 500 to take gold. Princeton beat the rest of the field by at least three seconds, and Ivy rivals Yale and Brown by 10 seconds, to finish second.
"I think we had a phenomenal season, and this was a great way to end it," sophomore Franco D'Agostino said. "We went out trying to scare Washington, and we went out as hard as we can and tried to hang on. Obviously there is a bit of a sour taste considering how close it was at the end, but I'm so proud of all the guys. It was an awesome effort.
"I'm so excited for the future, and all the credit goes to the coaching staff on that," he added. "They have developed a culture at the boathouse that is all about hard work. We had a really tough winter, but we were able to come out of it together with really fast boats at the end. I'm really excited to see what the freshmen next year and all the young guys from these top boats can bring next year."
The 3V had one of the most exciting races of the year at Eastern Sprints to win gold, and it made it back to the IRA final, but it lost touch with the top group a bit early in its IRA final and wasn't able to make up the ground. Princeton finished fifth overall, while Washington completed its sweep of the top three races.
The Tigers also put together a freshman eight, which was limited due to the seven Tiger freshmen racing in the top three boats, and it placed third in its petite final.
There is both excitement in the near and distant future for the program. The top three Princeton boats will cross the Atlantic Ocean this summer to compete at Henley, and then will return to campus next fall hoping to continue building the culture in place.
For one day, though, Hughes could enjoy the fruits of so much labor. Princeton finished third in the Ten Eyck Team Trophy standings, just behind California, while Washington won the title for the ninth straight season.
"There's no question the boats had their best race on the last race of the season," he said. "It was our first medal in the V8 in nine years, and I'm really proud of that. I'm so proud of the sheer guts the 2V showed. It's really exciting."
VARSITY EIGHT GRAND FINAL
1 Washington 5:28.015
2 California 5:30.798
3 Princeton 5:30.942
4 Brown 5:36.198
5 Harvard 5:38.680
6 Northeastern 5:41.296
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT GRAND FINAL
1 Washington 5:33.643
2 Princeton 5:34.667
3 Boston Univ. 5:38.324
4 California 5:42.338
5 Yale 5:45.026
6 Brown 5:49.037
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT GRAND FINAL
1 Washington 5:40.389
2 Harvard 5:43.194
3 California 5:44.451
4 Brown 5:49.432
5 Princeton 5:51.182
6 Yale 5:51.224
FRESHMAN EIGHT PETITE FINAL
1 Dartmouth 6:06.275
2 Navy 6:07.829
3 Princeton 6:09.954