Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Medal Trio, Including Robbins' Repeat Gold, Highlights World Rowing Champs
September 06, 2015 | Heavyweight Rowing, Women's Rowing - Open, Men's Rowing - Lightweight
Heidi Robbins '13 and Lauren Wilkinson '11 were teammates when Princeton won the 2011 NCAA championship in the women's varsity eight. On Sept. 6, the two were in adjacent boats in Aiguebelette, France, for the 2015 World Rowing Championships W8+ final.
Robbins stroked the USA eight to a 10th straight world championship, while Wilkinson stroked the Canadian eight to a bronze medal. Those two joined 2006 NCAA champion Kate Bertko '06 as Princeton medalists at the World Championships, the biggest rowing competition until the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Those were three of the 11 current or former Princeton rowers who competed at the World Championships, and each made at least the 'B' final in their respective competitions.
The two that will now turn their attention to both new class schedules and the Princeton fall racing season are heavyweight senior Martin Barakso and open junior Georgie Howe. Barakso competed with former Princeton captain Michael Evans in the men's pair; the Canadian duo reached the B final and finished sixth in 6:42.15.
Howe, who also competed at the U-23 World Championships this summer, competed for Australia in the W8+. Though it missed out on the A final, the Australians did take second in the B final in 6:06.85.
The A final in the women's eight was a battle between the USA, the reigning power in the sport, and a group of boats looking to make a major statement before the 2016 Olympics. Great Britain tried to make the first statement, sprinting from the start and grabbing a lead at the 500-meter mark.
By the 1000, though, the drama over gold was all but finished. The Americans powered to the lead and were never challenged over the second half of the race. They won in 6:05.65, about three seconds faster than New Zealand.
That left Wilkinson and the Canadian boat to try and catch Great Britain for the final medal spot. Canada made a move during the third split and caught the British boat by the 1500-meter mark; it held on for bronze by about one second in 6:09.05.
The other medal went to Bertko, who raced in the lightweight women's single sculls. After overcoming a major injury one year earlier to win bronze in the lightweight single sculls, she repeated that finish with another bronze in 7:34.58. It was a tight battle for the top three spots, with just over two seconds separating gold from bronze; Bertko held the second spot for most of the race, but got caught late by a British rower. Nevertheless, it was a second straight medal for Bertko in the top event of the year.
Bertko's teammate in the historic 2006 NCAA champion Princeton women's eight was Gevvie Stone '07, who raced in the women's single sculls. Stone, who placed seventh in the event at the 2012 Olympics, reached the A final and made a strong push at the medal stand. Stone was in fifth through the first half of the race, but she passed a Swiss rower to get within one place of the medal dock. Unfortunately, the top three were two far ahead, and Stone finished about 2.5 seconds away from a top-three spot.
The final Princeton rower to compete in the A finals was former men's lightweight national champion Robin Prendes '11. He rowed in the lightweight men's pair, which was coached by current Princeton lightweight assistant coach Bill Manning. The pair reached the A final, and then made a late move past Australia to finish fifth in 6:37.46.
Two former Tigers won their respective B finals. Glenn Ochal '08, who both rowed and coached at Princeton, was part of a resilient effort in the men's four. After the USA missed the A final by less than one second in the semifinals, it came back impressively to win the B final in 5:53.45.
Former lightweight captain Tyler Nase '13 was in the lightweight four, which rallied from fourth place early to win its B final in 5:55.03. The USA started gaining speed during the second split, where it went from fourth to second, and then took over the race in the final 1000 meters.
Former heavyweight captain Ian Silveira '12 rowed in the quadruple sculls, and his USA boat took sixth in the B final in 5:52.84.