Youthful Ivy Champ Tigers Wrap Up 2017 Season With NCAA Top-10 Finish, Optimism For Future

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In the immediate aftermath of the 2017 NCAA Championships, the members of the Princeton open rowing team were left with bittersweet emotions. There was pride in the effort, and in the fight they showed in their respective Sunday races, but it was mixed with the disappointment of results that just didn't match what they hoped.

Such is the nature of the NCAA Championships in a sport that has simply exploded over the last 5-10 years. The talent has spread so much that the 1V of four of the last five NCAA champions — Virginia and Ohio State — were with Princeton in the petite final during Sunday's championship session.

Only two weeks removed from winning its second straight Ivy League championship, Princeton ended up placing 10th at the NCAA Championships on Mercer Lake. A sixth-place finish by the V4 and two petite final results for the 1V and the 2V gave the Tigers 85 points, only one behind ninth-place Wisconsin. Top-ranked Washington had a historic effort to dominate the weekend; the Huskies won all three events to earn the maximum 132 points and win their first team championship since 2001.

Princeton will return 16 of the 23 competitors who took on the nation's best boats, and at least one graduating senior has plenty of optimism that the group will build from all the experiences of 2017.

"They have to get some redemption from this weekend, and I believe they will," senior co-captain Georgie Howe said. "They're chomping at the bit, ready to go for next year. I can't wait to see what they do."

Much of their future success will be aided by the leadership shown to them by the Class of 2017, including seven who competed for the final time Sunday.

"Our seniors have been really phenomenal leaders, not just this year, but in years past," said sophomore 1V stroke Emily Kallfelz. "They provide an insane amount of enthusiasm and work ethic, and we're going to miss them a lot. But I'm also excited to see underclassmen stepping up and filling their roles, and I think we can be successful in that."

Two of those outgoing seniors, Anna Kalfaian and Kanoe Shizuru, rowed in only the sixth Princeton V4 to reach the NCAA grand final. Following a brilliant semifinal row on Saturday, the crew didn't quite have the speed to push into the lead pack, but the sixth-place finish (7:25.41) was still a remarkable close to the season.

Both the 1V and 2V showed the pride and competitiveness required after a heartbreaking fourth-place finish in the A/B semifinals. The 1V got out to a lead, but were caught late by both Ohio State and Brown, while the 2V also got caught over the final 500 to end up fourth in its final.

First Varsity Petite Final
Ohio State 6:46.65
Brown 6:47.46
Princeton 6:47.81
Virginia 6:49.53
Wisconsin 6:50.57
Indiana 6:55.13

Second Varsity Petite Final
Texas 6:48.40
Yale 6:49.79
Stanford 6:50.22
Princeton 6:51.09
Syracuse 6:56.14
Virginia 6:56.76

Varsity Four Grand Final
Washington 7:07.10
California 7:11.71
Ohio State 7:16.47
Texas 7:20.33
Michigan 7:21.10
Princeton 7:25.41

Final Team Standings
Washington 132
California 123
Michigan 112
Texas 108
Ohio State 106
Stanford 105
Yale 96
Brown 91
Wisconsin 86
Princeton 85
Virginia 74
Indiana 62
Syracuse 60
Washington State 56
Iowa 54
Notre Dame 40
Northeastern 38
Central Florida 28
Gonzaga 25
Navy 16
Massachusetts 15
Jacksonville 6

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