Princeton University
Class of 1975 Cup: Cornell and Harvard
Players Mentioned
Open Women Handle First Road Test, Retain '75 Trophy Over Cornell, Harvard
April 09, 2016 | Women's Rowing - Open
The ninth-ranked Princeton open rowing team took care of business Friday night in its lone road regatta of the 2016 regular season. The Tigers won their 27th Class of 1975 Cup Regatta by topping both No. 17 Harvard and Cornell on the Cayuga Inlet.
Princeton, which improved to 3-2 on the season, won four of five races during the rare evening competition; the race had been previously scheduled for Saturday morning, but was moved due to a frigid Saturday morning forecast. The Tigers brought a little of their own heat in the varsity showdown, as their time of 6:23.5 topped Harvard by more than nine seconds.
"I was very pleased with the execution of our race," freshman Emily Kallfelz said. "Even though some patches were a little rough, especially in the second 500, we didn't get flustered. I thought that we capitalized on the big turn very well. We knew Harvard was going to try to make a big move through that bridge, and we sat up and didn't let them gain on us. I think that made a huge difference because they were expecting to come out of that bridge winning, but we punched right back."
Kallfelz and classmate Claire Collins have infused some young talent in the top varsity boat, which improved to 3-2 with the wins.
"I feel pretty acclimated now that we have a few races under our belt," Collins said. "We were happy with the race overall. Of course there are still parts that we are working on, but we are excited that we continue to make improvements and gain speed. The boat really started to gel more this week because we trusted each other and Amanda and stayed focused in our boat and our race."
The win was also a positive sign for the Tigers, who won't be tested again away from Lake Carnegie until the Ivy League Championships are held May 15 on Mercer Lake.
"Going into this race, our boat knew that the course was going to be a challenge," Kallfelz said. "We drew Lane 3, the least favored lane, and I could tell Lori was nervous about that. However, I think we handled the new situation very well. We knew where Harvard was going to try and take us, but Amanda nailed the turn and we rowed very well through that bridge and just kept walking.
"We are very accustomed to racing on Carnegie and I think that winning on this course gave us some confidence that we can handle tough conditions and tough situations and still come out of them victorious," she continued."
Princeton's two other NCAA Championship format crews were equally successful. The second varsity finished in 6:38.5 to top Harvard by nearly 14 seconds, while the V4 went 7:25.2 to win by more than nine seconds.
The V4B (7:32.6) won by nearly nine seconds, while the 3V8 took third in 7:09.2.
Princeton returns home next weekend for a huge regatta on Lake Carnegie Saturday morning. The ninth-ranked Tigers will take on No. 5 Yale for the Eisenberg Cup, and the regatta will also feature the 11th-ranked USC Trojans.
"There are definitely some challenging and exciting races approaching but I can feel that our confidence as a boat and as a team is building each week through practices and racing," Collins said. "This confidence will hopefully help us attack the big races we have up ahead and help us continue to improve and gain speed. The seniors and upperclassmen have provided great leadership on how to approach each race and that has helped us freshmen stay calm, cool, and collected," she added.
Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:23.5
Harvard-Radcliffe 6:32.6
Cornell 6:39.3
Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:38.5
Harvard 6:52.3
Cornell 7:00.7
Varsity Four
Princeton 7:25.2
Harvard 7:34.4
Cornell 7:40.3
Third Varsity Eight
Cornell 6:59.9
Harvard 7:05.7
Princeton 7:09.2
Varsity 4B
Princeton 7:32.6
Harvard 7:40.5
Cornell 7:52.9