Princeton University
The Carnegie Cup: Cornell and Yale
Players Mentioned
Heavies Take 4 of 5, But Top-Ranked Yale Edges Tigers, Retains Carnegie Cup
April 23, 2016 | Heavyweight Rowing
"Overall, in my time, that was the strongest team performance I've had at the Carnegie Cup," Hughes said after Princeton won three of four races during the morning. "The whole team performed really well."
The highlight race of the morning — if not in all of college racing this weekend — came in the opener, when two unbeaten boats threw down a blazing 2,000 meters for the Compton Cup. Yale held the immediate lead due to the stagger on the Housatonic, and the Bulldogs used a burst at the start to make sure Princeton couldn't make it up.
The Tigers responded, as did ninth-ranked Cornell, and all three boats stayed in the race through the opening 1,000 meters. Yale kept its advantage at the turn and pulled away from the Big Red, but Princeton continued its push at the nation's top-ranked boat.
Ultimately, Princeton never went away, but Yale never let the Tigers come fully back either. The Bulldogs won in 5:20.8, just 2.1 seconds faster than Princeton. It was easily Yale's closest race of the season; its previous closest was a win by nearly seven seconds over fourth-ranked California at the San Diego Crew Classic.
"I thought we have a great race," Hughes said. "Yale is a really fast boat. They're strong, they're fast. There is nothing I was disappointed with in our performance. To get the opportnity to go against a great boat in good conditions is an advantage for us. We know what we have, and now we can work on it.
"The Carnegie Cup is more than just the 2,000-meter race," Hughes added, talking about the Housatonic River. "There is a lot of history and tradition, and the courses are part of it. That's cool. After a long spring of being on the road, I've been really impressed with the way the team has adpated on the fly and raced to the really high level."
While the first varsity can build on the lessons from the morning, the 2V learned from its previous weekend, when it suffered its first loss in a close race to Harvard.
"Our loss to Harvard was definitely a lesson to everyone in the boat, myself included," senior coxswain Jill Barton said. "We learned not to be comfortable with what we have and what we had last year, but to constantly be seeking more speed and a faster boat. We know that the 2V competition is going to be tough this year, so it was helpful to race one of the top boats in the field, Harvard, early enough in the season for us to learn this lesson."
The 2V put that lesson into motion Saturday morning with a hard-fought win on the Housatonic. The Tigers took the race in 5:25.8, nearly three seconds faster than the host school and almost eight ahead of Cornell.
"I was very pleased with our execution of the difficult Yale course today," sophomore stroke Julian Goldman said. "Jill did an excellent job of navigating the turn and making sure that we took it as advantageously as possible. Because of the turn, we started on a stagger, so it was really important for us to get a good lead early so that Yale wouldn't take anything substantial back on the inside of the turn.
"This win was really important for our team," Goldman added. "We all have aspirations. And last weekend, we stumbled a little. But this weekend we regained our footing. We took a good look at ourselves and said, "this stuff probably isn't a good idea." And we were able to come off of that and make a real positive change."
"I was really happy with how we took on the race this week, knowing that Yale's race course, having a pretty lengthy turn in the middle half, would present a new challenge," Barton said. "We knew, depending on the lane draw, we could start down on all boats and tried to practice staying comfortable and internal should that be the case. I think that our practice this week with staying internal, but aggressive, really paid of this weekend."
It was a morning filled with close racing. The Princeton 3V remained undefeated on the season in 5:30.6, 2.5 seconds faster than Cornell, while the 4V won in 5:35.0, almost three seconds faster than Yale. The 5V had the rare opportunity to race another heavyweight 5V, and it took advantage with a 9-second win in 5:54.2.
That race concluded a four-week road stretch that Hughes believes his sharpened his squad as it draws closer to the postseason. That being said, he and his squad are ready for one final row on Lake Carnegie; Princeton will host Brown for the Content Cup next Saturday morning on the Ivy League Digital Network.
"It's been a fun ride, but I'll be pretty pumped to race on Carnegie," Hughes said. "The Brown race is the last race of the season, and boats are usually set and strong at that point. They're moving well, so it's always a burner. On every level, in every boat, it's a great way to finish off the season."
Varsity Eight
Yale 5:20.8
Princeton 5:22.9
Cornell 5:25.7
Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:25.8
Yale 5:28.2
Cornell 5:33.5
Third Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:30.6
Cornell 5:33.1
Yale 5:36.8
Fourth Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:35.0
Yale 5:37.7
Cornell 5:42.9
Fifth Varsity Eight
Princeton 5:54.2
Cornell 6:03.6
1v
Cox Mcfall
8 George
7 Francis
6 Mead
5 Barakso
4 Livingstone
3 Eble
2 Northrop
1 Kontinnen
2v
Cox Barton
8 Goldman
7 Barker
6 Wambersie
5 Chance
4 Vystavel
3 Bernhard
2 De Groot
1 Toch
3v
Cox Wylie
8 Morgan
7 Stein
6 Elsegood
5 D'Agostino
4 Lord
3 Watt
2 Palmer
1 Benstead
4v
Cox Sola
8 Naylor
7 Johnson
6 Guyett
5 Wiggins
4 Lawton
3 Levine
2 Helmers
1 Evans
5v
Cox Noordin
8 Doyle
7 Moskovitz
6 Clark
5 Ruscus
4 Michael
3 Bao
2 Lindfield Roberts
1 Segal