Princeton University Athletics
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#4 Heavies Begin April Road Show, Will Race For Navy-Princeton Rowing Cup
March 31, 2016 | Heavyweight Rowing
(See bottom of this release for racing schedule, directions)
The great traveling roadshow that will be Princeton heavyweight rowing this month begins in Annapolis Saturday morning, as the fourth-ranked Tigers will look to retain The Navy-Princeton Rowing Cup on the Severn River when they take on the 10th-ranked Midshipmen.
And if it is anything like the last Navy-Princeton showdown on the Severn, you won't want to miss this one.
Princeton, which opened its season last weekend with a home victory over Georgetown, has won four straight in this series since The Navy-Princeton Rowing Cup was re-introduced during the 2013 season. The two programs have competed for the Cup for more than a century, though few regattas could have been as exciting as the one two seasons ago in Annapolis.
Princeton, then ranked fourth nationally, defeated Navy in the 1V race by only 1.4 seconds. The Tigers 2V made that look like open water, as they won by merely .2 of a second, and the Princeton 3V won by only 2.2 seconds.
It was a thriller then, and these Tigers expect nothing less from the always-competitive Midshipmen Saturday, especially on an unfamiliar course. And that will be the status quo for Princeton, as its next four races will be on the road.
“The biggest challenge racing on an unfamiliar course is probably just the recognizability,” sophomore Julian Goldman said. “On Lake Carnegie, we've rowed up and down the course so many times that everyone can tell where we are pretty much just out of the corner of their eye. At an away course, especially a course like Navy, where we are out in the open without many recognizable landmarks, the home team has the advantage of being really familiar with their surroundings.
“But that's something that a mature crew can race through, I think.”
Princeton has plenty of maturity, especially having returned 19 rowers from the three boats it took to both the IRA finals and the Henley Royal Regatta. But this is a new season, and a new combination in each boat, and the squad was happy to get on the water and start racing last weekend.
“The focus for this one was to be internal yet stay aggressive,” said sophomore Tim Livingstone, who rowed in the 1V last weekend. “We took four seats off the start, kept on kicking back margin, and stayed tenacious. We've proved to ourselves that we have great rhythm and fitness.”
The 2V, coming off back-to-back medal performances at IRAs, had an equally successful start.
“Last weekend was a great start for our boat,” Goldman said. “As with most things, it's really easy to expect everything to be figured out right from the get go, but I think we have some improvements that will really bring the 2V up to its full potential. We can work on our consistency. It's natural to have some deviation from speed as we get into the third 500, but we want to limit that deviation and make it as small as possible.”
As consistency improves, so does the chemistry and rhythm of the boats. Those will all be forged in good competition — and Princeton has plenty of that upcoming — and the Tigers believe they could turn this season into something truly memorable.
“If you get the chemistry right, you can start dropping bombs,” Livingstone said. “There are really only two types of rowers in my opinion: introverted, and extroverted psychopaths. You need the precise molarity of both to get a potent mix of speed. I think we have just that in the 1V this year.”
RACING SCHEDULE
1V • 7:20
2V • 7:40
3V • 8:00
4V • 8:20
5V • 8:40
DIRECTIONS
Directions to Navy Boathouse and viewing on Navy's Lower Course
*you will need a photo ID to walk onto Navy campus*
These driving directions will take you to Gate 8 of the Naval Academy. Spectators and guests should park outside of the gate and make the short walk (0.25 miles) to the boathouse. If you are bringing food for the athletes, I suggest a hand truck to transport items to the boathouse. Only cars with Department of Defense stickers will be allowed to drive onto campus. Once at the boathouse, it is another short walk (0.33 miles) to the finish line of the Lower Course.
- Route 50 towards Annapolis
- Take Exit 24, Rowe Blvd, Annapolis
- After approx 1 mile, make a left onto Taylor Ave.
- After passing a 7-Eleven, make a right at the T-intersection.
- Turn right at the second traffic light and then make another immediate right into a parking area and park there. To get to the boathouse, you need to walk down the hill along the practice baseball field and to the guard shack. Show your photo ID to the guard and continue to walk down the hill. The boathouse is the first building that you will see on the right after the guard shack.
- From the boathouse, you can walk to the finish line of the Lower Course. After crossing the road near the boathouse towards the cemetery, take the road that takes you along the water's edge in the creek (Do not cross over bridge). Once you get to the hospital point fields, walk across field to the right corner of the seawall. The finish line is directly at that corner.
Directions to watch rowing races on Navy's Upper Course
These driving directions will take you across our river to a private estate where we have been allowed access to watch the races. Please be very careful in parking your car, quiet on the grounds, and pick-up all trash when leaving. You may watch from the shore line or dock which is positioned very close to the finish line of our upper race course. If plugging and address into a GPS device use: Crouches Lane, Annapolis, MD.
- From Naval Academy: Turn right out of Gate 8 onto Route 450 and go over the Severn River on the Naval Academy Bridge. Proceed up the hill, turning left onto Boulters Way just before the entrance ramp for Route 50. Then follow directions on Boulters Way below.
- From Route 50: Take Exit 27 for Route 450 towards Naval Academy. After you exit, turn right on Boulters Way.
- Once on Boulters Way, follow the bend in the road to the right. Then take a left onto S. Winchester Rd. and then another immediate left onto a private drive.
- Follow the private drive straight. When the road bends sharply to the right, you will be passing a large house on the left. Just past this house is a grass field on the left where you can park your car. There might be cones marking the entrance to the field.
- After you park your car, walk over the hill and down towards the water. At the top of the hill, walk towards the view of the Navy Chapel then bear to the right towards a private dock which is near the finish line of our upper race course. Call the phone number at the top of the page to listen to the race broadcast.