Saturday, May 27
Mercer Lake • West Windsor, N.J.
8:00 AM
Princeton University
vs
NCAA Championships Day 2
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Princeton V4 Reaches NCAA Grand Final, Becomes Sixth In Team History To Reach V4 Final
May 27, 2017 | Women's Rowing - Open
COMPLETE RESULTS
Following a third-place performance at the Ivy Championships, Princeton assistant coach Kate Maxim wasn't sure if her V4 would be deflated or inspired heading into this weekend's NCAA Championship regatta. Her experienced crew answered that in both resounding and positive fashion over two days on Mercer Lake, and its reward will be a berth in Sunday's NCAA Championships grand final. The Tiger V4, seeded 10th heading into NCAAs, became only the sixth V4 in Princeton open rowing history to reach the NCAA grand final.
The V4 — the only double-digit seeded crew to advance to a grand final — will race in the 10:12 final, while both the 1V and 2V placed fourth in tough semifinal races, and each will compete in the petite finals during the final day of the NCAA Championships.
"It's so special for me," senior Kanoe Shizuru said. "I've never been to the grand final. It's a dream I've always had, and to get that opportunity is so awesome. Going into tomorrow, we have nothing to lose. These are the best fours in the country, and they've been showing how fast they are, but I think we are showing that we have a speed that can be in the pack, and I'm excited to see what we can do tomorrow."
Following a strong second-place showing in its opening heat, Princeton came out with another good start during the morning semifinal. Washington, the top-seeded four in the field, put forth a dominant effort and was rarely challenged over the 2000 meters, which left third-seeded Michigan, 10th-seeded Princeton and fifth-seeded Yale to battle for the final spot.
Princeton stayed in good position through much of the race, while Yale held contact at the midway point and into the third 500. The Tigers needed a good final sprint, which was a focal point for them heading into the race.
"We're really focusing on getting better every race," Shizuru said. "We executed pretty well [Friday], but we knew there were a couple things. We had to sprint better, we had to stay strong off the start because we knew Yale was going to push out. I think we honed in on the specific things we tried to improve on from yesterday, and I think we did those things even better."
That sprint actually put Princeton much closer to second-place Michigan than to fourth-place Yale. There was minimal drama in the final strokes, and Princeton could quickly turn its attention to Sunday's 10:12 grand final, when it will race out of Lane 6 against (in lane order) Texas, Ohio State, California, Washington, and Michigan. The latter four in that pack comprise the top four seeds in the field.
"I'm witnessing their confidence grow, and that's the most important thing," Maxim said. "Today's race went well, but I have a sense they have one more gear. I don't know where that will put them, but I feel like they will peak at the right time."
The crew could make more history Sunday. While only five other Princeton V4s have even made the NCAA grand final, none has reached the medal stand. The best V4 result for Princeton was a fourth-place finish in 2007.
That was the highlight race in what was a tough day for the two varsity eights. Both pushed hard, but they fell one place short of the necessary top-three finish needed to reach the grand final.
As has been the case in each of its last two races, the Tiger 1V got out to a strong start in its second semifinal heat, and actually led the field at the 500 mark. Stanford began to assert itself during the second split and established a lead it would never relinquish.
By the 1500 mark, Stanford was all but assured of its spot in the final, while Michigan, Princeton and Yale (in that order) were separated by only .7 of a second. The Wolverines would finish second, leaving Princeton and Yale to sprint for the final spot. Yale had built significant momentum after the 1000-meter mark, and the Bulldogs carried that to fend off Princeton by about 1.3 seconds.
Princeton will row in Lane 3 of the 10:48 petite final Sunday. The other crews in the race will be Indiana, Virginia, Ohio State, Brown, and Wisconsin.
The 2V threw a gutsy semifinal race at a rested field, and it nearly ran down Wisconsin to qualify for the grand final. Princeton placed third in a tight opening heat Friday, then had to fight through the final sprint in the repechage to advance past Indiana, and the Tigers found themselves in sixth at the 500 mark during the semifinal.
A strong second 500 sent the Tigers past both Virginia and Stanford, and then they set their sights on the lead trio of California, Michigan and Wisconsin. The front pair never let anybody get close, but the Tigers made contact with Wisconsin over the final sprint. Ultimately, though, they ran out of room and fell about 1.8 seconds short.
Princeton will row in Lane 3 of the 10:24 petite final Sunday. The other crews will be Virginia, Yale, Texas, Stanford, and Syracuse.
Varsity Eight Semifinal
Stanford 6:15.43
Michigan 6:18.15
Yale 6:18.15
Princeton 6:19.37
Virginia 6:25.40
Indiana 6:32.41
Second Varsity Eight Semifinal
California 6:26.28
Michigan 6:28.92
Wisconsin 6:30.19
Princeton 6:31.97
Stanford 6:33.93
Virginia 6:36.92
Varsity Four Semifinal
Washington 6:58.44
Michigan 7:04.55
Princeton 7:05.77
Yale 7:11.23
Iowa 7:23.94
Syracuse 7:32.94
Following a third-place performance at the Ivy Championships, Princeton assistant coach Kate Maxim wasn't sure if her V4 would be deflated or inspired heading into this weekend's NCAA Championship regatta. Her experienced crew answered that in both resounding and positive fashion over two days on Mercer Lake, and its reward will be a berth in Sunday's NCAA Championships grand final. The Tiger V4, seeded 10th heading into NCAAs, became only the sixth V4 in Princeton open rowing history to reach the NCAA grand final.
The V4 — the only double-digit seeded crew to advance to a grand final — will race in the 10:12 final, while both the 1V and 2V placed fourth in tough semifinal races, and each will compete in the petite finals during the final day of the NCAA Championships.
"It's so special for me," senior Kanoe Shizuru said. "I've never been to the grand final. It's a dream I've always had, and to get that opportunity is so awesome. Going into tomorrow, we have nothing to lose. These are the best fours in the country, and they've been showing how fast they are, but I think we are showing that we have a speed that can be in the pack, and I'm excited to see what we can do tomorrow."
Following a strong second-place showing in its opening heat, Princeton came out with another good start during the morning semifinal. Washington, the top-seeded four in the field, put forth a dominant effort and was rarely challenged over the 2000 meters, which left third-seeded Michigan, 10th-seeded Princeton and fifth-seeded Yale to battle for the final spot.
Princeton stayed in good position through much of the race, while Yale held contact at the midway point and into the third 500. The Tigers needed a good final sprint, which was a focal point for them heading into the race.
"We're really focusing on getting better every race," Shizuru said. "We executed pretty well [Friday], but we knew there were a couple things. We had to sprint better, we had to stay strong off the start because we knew Yale was going to push out. I think we honed in on the specific things we tried to improve on from yesterday, and I think we did those things even better."
That sprint actually put Princeton much closer to second-place Michigan than to fourth-place Yale. There was minimal drama in the final strokes, and Princeton could quickly turn its attention to Sunday's 10:12 grand final, when it will race out of Lane 6 against (in lane order) Texas, Ohio State, California, Washington, and Michigan. The latter four in that pack comprise the top four seeds in the field.
"I'm witnessing their confidence grow, and that's the most important thing," Maxim said. "Today's race went well, but I have a sense they have one more gear. I don't know where that will put them, but I feel like they will peak at the right time."
The crew could make more history Sunday. While only five other Princeton V4s have even made the NCAA grand final, none has reached the medal stand. The best V4 result for Princeton was a fourth-place finish in 2007.
That was the highlight race in what was a tough day for the two varsity eights. Both pushed hard, but they fell one place short of the necessary top-three finish needed to reach the grand final.
As has been the case in each of its last two races, the Tiger 1V got out to a strong start in its second semifinal heat, and actually led the field at the 500 mark. Stanford began to assert itself during the second split and established a lead it would never relinquish.
By the 1500 mark, Stanford was all but assured of its spot in the final, while Michigan, Princeton and Yale (in that order) were separated by only .7 of a second. The Wolverines would finish second, leaving Princeton and Yale to sprint for the final spot. Yale had built significant momentum after the 1000-meter mark, and the Bulldogs carried that to fend off Princeton by about 1.3 seconds.
Princeton will row in Lane 3 of the 10:48 petite final Sunday. The other crews in the race will be Indiana, Virginia, Ohio State, Brown, and Wisconsin.
The 2V threw a gutsy semifinal race at a rested field, and it nearly ran down Wisconsin to qualify for the grand final. Princeton placed third in a tight opening heat Friday, then had to fight through the final sprint in the repechage to advance past Indiana, and the Tigers found themselves in sixth at the 500 mark during the semifinal.
A strong second 500 sent the Tigers past both Virginia and Stanford, and then they set their sights on the lead trio of California, Michigan and Wisconsin. The front pair never let anybody get close, but the Tigers made contact with Wisconsin over the final sprint. Ultimately, though, they ran out of room and fell about 1.8 seconds short.
Princeton will row in Lane 3 of the 10:24 petite final Sunday. The other crews will be Virginia, Yale, Texas, Stanford, and Syracuse.
Varsity Eight Semifinal
Stanford 6:15.43
Michigan 6:18.15
Yale 6:18.15
Princeton 6:19.37
Virginia 6:25.40
Indiana 6:32.41
Second Varsity Eight Semifinal
California 6:26.28
Michigan 6:28.92
Wisconsin 6:30.19
Princeton 6:31.97
Stanford 6:33.93
Virginia 6:36.92
Varsity Four Semifinal
Washington 6:58.44
Michigan 7:04.55
Princeton 7:05.77
Yale 7:11.23
Iowa 7:23.94
Syracuse 7:32.94
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rowing - Open
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