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NCAA, Ivy Champs To Provide Quick Test For 11th-Ranked Open Women Saturday
March 24, 2016 | Women's Rowing - Open
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Princeton will race both No. 1 Ohio State (the defending NCAA champion) and No. 3 Brown (the defending Ivy League champion) this Saturday morning at 9 am to open the 2016 racing season, and the Ivy League Digital Network will again stream all Tiger home races this season. The varsity eight race is slated to go off at 10:20 am. You can access the live video by clicking on the link above this paragraph, and you can watch the GoPrincetonTigers.TV video preview by clicking the play link in the photo above.
A full order of races on Saturday, which includes the heavyweight men and the lightweight women, can be found below the season preview.
If there were any thoughts about easing into the 2016 season for the Princeton open women, look no further than the first weekend of competition that Lori Dauphiny has put together for her Tiger squad.
This Saturday morning, Princeton will welcome both the reigning NCAA champion (No. 1 Ohio State) and the reigning Ivy League champion (No. 3 Brown) for the first races of the 2016 season. The races will provide the ultimate early measuring stick for a team that is looking forward to shaking off the memories from a disappointing 2015 postseason.
“Knowing that we'll be competing against the top crews in the country in just a matter of days has definitely allowed us to maximize our spring break training,” junior Catherine Babiec, who rowed in the 7 seat for the varsity during the postseason, said. “It is a bit intimidating to have such a stacked first race, but this will also be a huge first test of our speed. We know the season is long and there are a lot of opportunities throughout it to improve and steal fitness, so we will take the result from our first race and just build from it.”
After an 8-2 regular season last year, the Princeton varsity eight took third in the Ivy League championships, and the team followed with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The team has been driven by those results, especially since they followed back-to-back Ivy championship seasons.
While this senior class may lack some quantity, there is plenty of quality that can lead the top Tiger boats this season. Mary Ann McNulty, Erin Reelick and Meghan Wheeler are tri-captains this season; both Reelick and Wheeler have been in Ivy championship varsity boats, while McNulty helped the 2V win silver at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
“The leadership from our captains — Mary Ann McNulty, Erin Reelick and Meghan Wheeler — has been really strong, and our younger rowers are fighting to help us get faster,” said head coach Lori Dauphiny, who has guided Princeton to two NCAA V8 gold medals and six Ivy League championships. “The team has a good chemistry, a good energy, and that has helped us every step of the way.”
Princeton enters the season ranked 11th in the preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I, and it will race against five teams in the preseason Top 20 throughout the season, though no weekend looks as daunting as this opener. Racing will start at 9, with the first varsity race slated to go off at 10:40 am.
Dauphiny knows that her young squad — more than 65% of the roster are underclassmen — could have some early bumps in the road, and a handful of preseason injuries have already created some added obstacles. Still, the energy in the boathouse has been positive, and it has led to some steep improvements already.
“I'm happy with the work we have put in over the last few months to prepare for a challenging season,” Dauphiny said. “They are dedicated to getting better each day, and I'm excited to see how we progress against some really strong competition.”
Besides its senior captains, the Tigers return several members of its top varsity boats last season, including junior Georgie Howe, who joined Wheeler and Reelick in the W8+ A finals at the U-23 World Championships last summer.
SATURDAY ORDER OF RACING
Princeton Heavyweight Men vs. Georgetown
8:00 AM • First Varsity
8:12 AM • Third Varsity
8:24 AM • Second Varsity
8:36 AM • Fourth/Fifth Varsity
Princeton Open Women vs. Brown & Ohio State
9:00 AM • B Four/C Four
9:20 AM • Third Varsity
9:40 AM • A Four
10:00 AM • Second Varsity
10:20 AM • First Varsity - Class of 1987 Trophy
Princeton Lightweight Women vs. Radcliffe
11:00 AM • First Varsity - Class of 1999 Cup
11:20 AM • Second Varsity
11:40 AM • Third Varsity