Princeton University Athletics
Sunday, June 4
Sacramento, Calif.
12:30 PM ET (9:30 local)
Princeton University
vs
IRA Championships (Day 3)
Players Mentioned
/ Heavyweight Rowing
The Princeton 2V earned a bronze medal and defeated all Eastern programs at the IRA Championships.
Heavies Outperform Seeds, Claims Two Medals During Thrilling Final Day At IRA Championships
June 04, 2017 | Heavyweight Rowing
When Greg Hughes took over the Princeton heavyweights prior to the 2010 season, his goal was to see the Tigers race the best crews in the country on the final day of the season, and to see his team compete at the highest possible level.
Last season, that led to a sweep of medals for all boats. This season, it helped Princeton either surpass or maintain its seed in all events at IRAs.
Hughes and his team are competitors, without question, so they'll hope to leave with more medals when the 2018 IRAs return to Mercer Lake, but he was very proud of the way his boats competed Sunday on Lake Natoma during the final day of the IRA Championships.
"Without a doubt, every single person on the team showed up ready to race," Hughes said. "It was some super gritty racing. It was a full team effort without a doubt."
The Princeton 2V remained the best boat in the East, placing third to both Washington and California in a thrilling grand final, while the 1V improved its seed by one place and finished fourth in the national championship race. The Tigers were actually less than a half second away from returning to the medal dock for a third straight season, but their late charge fell a foot or two short of Harvard for bronze.
"That was absolutely their best race of the season," Hughes said. "The breakdown of where they were during the season, to where they ended today, was impressive. They had a drag race against Harvard and didn't know the result until they announced it.
"That's racing," he added. "That was the best race they had, and they put it all out there. There was no fear, no regrets. That's a big driver in our culture. Not to overly strategize every aspect of the race, but to just engage in the battle, and respond to the race. Be in the moment, and you saw it today."
The moment was also an important one for the sport, as Yale became the first Eastern program to win the national title since Harvard did so in 2005. Like the Harvard-Princeton finish for third, Yale wasn't sure it knocked off Washington until they announced the final times.
"It was exciting to see that for East Coast rowing, and the Ivy League," Hughes said. "It shows that there is depth, talent and speed in this league. It was really exciting to see. It's exciting for us, but it's also really good for the sport. In the way these races get polled, the first and second place finishers from the Pac-12 got seeded 1-2, and they deserve some of that because of the history, but they finished 2-5. It was great for Eastern programs to race and perform like they did today."
The top Eastern 2V remained Princeton, though it took every inch of the 2000 meters to determine that. The Sprints champion Tigers spent much of the race in second, trailing eventual champion Washington. California, Yale, and Harvard each made a big push late; the Bears edged Princeton by less than a tenth of a second, but the Tigers held off their Ivy rivals by a similar narrow margin to medal for the fourth straight year.
The Princeton 3V tried to push into both California and Yale in its grand final, but it finished fifth in 5:52.739. The varsity four won its second straight medal, taking third behind Washington and California in 6:34.310.
The thrilling day ended a challenging season for the heavyweights, who battled an almost constant slew of injuries as they tried to find rhythm in each boat.
"I learned a lot this year, and you think after 20 years you already knew most of it, but I learned a lot of new things this year," Hughes said. "The team's resilience was one of the most impressive things. We were facing some serious health challenges in April that really limited our ability to perform, but they never stepped back, never gave up. They kept coming back, kept working. We had heats at Sprints when boats were racing the first time with those lineups, and that takes some real guts.
"It was really, really inspiring," Hughes added. "Even if there were just a few seniors, I learned you can never underestimate the role of those guys. This year's senior class played a major role. Nick Mead, as a captain, made his mark. He's a quiet, hard-pulling guy, and the team adopted that virtue. It took a while to step into that role, and I think we'll recognize that faster next year. You can't just take for granted that it will happen."
But you can believe that this team will battle in the face of adversity, and that the best teams from the East Coast can truly emerge at the national championships. That is now proven.
Hughes also credited his coaching staff and support system, especially rigger Steve Hjuber — who drove Princeton's boats cross-country and back — for helping the heavyweights put forth another impressive postseason showing.
Varsity Eight Grand Final
Yale 5:29.900
Washington 5:29.969
Harvard 5:33.455
Princeton 5:33.786
California 5:36.260
Brown 5:36.950
Second Varsity Eight Grand Final
Washington 5:38.654
California 5:40.720
Princeton 5:40.777
Yale 5:40.824
Harvard 5:41.188
Boston Univ. 5:52.008
Third Varsity Eight Grand Final
Washington 5:47.289
Harvard 5:49.357
California 5:50.915
Yale 5:51.626
Princeton 5:52.739
Navy 5:54.981
Varsity Four Grand Final
Washington 6:23.811
California 6:28.354
Princeton 6:34.310
Boston Univ. 6:39.058
Marietta 6:39.805
Brown 6:40.772
Last season, that led to a sweep of medals for all boats. This season, it helped Princeton either surpass or maintain its seed in all events at IRAs.
Hughes and his team are competitors, without question, so they'll hope to leave with more medals when the 2018 IRAs return to Mercer Lake, but he was very proud of the way his boats competed Sunday on Lake Natoma during the final day of the IRA Championships.
"Without a doubt, every single person on the team showed up ready to race," Hughes said. "It was some super gritty racing. It was a full team effort without a doubt."
The Princeton 2V remained the best boat in the East, placing third to both Washington and California in a thrilling grand final, while the 1V improved its seed by one place and finished fourth in the national championship race. The Tigers were actually less than a half second away from returning to the medal dock for a third straight season, but their late charge fell a foot or two short of Harvard for bronze.
"That was absolutely their best race of the season," Hughes said. "The breakdown of where they were during the season, to where they ended today, was impressive. They had a drag race against Harvard and didn't know the result until they announced it.
"That's racing," he added. "That was the best race they had, and they put it all out there. There was no fear, no regrets. That's a big driver in our culture. Not to overly strategize every aspect of the race, but to just engage in the battle, and respond to the race. Be in the moment, and you saw it today."
The moment was also an important one for the sport, as Yale became the first Eastern program to win the national title since Harvard did so in 2005. Like the Harvard-Princeton finish for third, Yale wasn't sure it knocked off Washington until they announced the final times.
"It was exciting to see that for East Coast rowing, and the Ivy League," Hughes said. "It shows that there is depth, talent and speed in this league. It was really exciting to see. It's exciting for us, but it's also really good for the sport. In the way these races get polled, the first and second place finishers from the Pac-12 got seeded 1-2, and they deserve some of that because of the history, but they finished 2-5. It was great for Eastern programs to race and perform like they did today."
The top Eastern 2V remained Princeton, though it took every inch of the 2000 meters to determine that. The Sprints champion Tigers spent much of the race in second, trailing eventual champion Washington. California, Yale, and Harvard each made a big push late; the Bears edged Princeton by less than a tenth of a second, but the Tigers held off their Ivy rivals by a similar narrow margin to medal for the fourth straight year.
The Princeton 3V tried to push into both California and Yale in its grand final, but it finished fifth in 5:52.739. The varsity four won its second straight medal, taking third behind Washington and California in 6:34.310.
The thrilling day ended a challenging season for the heavyweights, who battled an almost constant slew of injuries as they tried to find rhythm in each boat.
"I learned a lot this year, and you think after 20 years you already knew most of it, but I learned a lot of new things this year," Hughes said. "The team's resilience was one of the most impressive things. We were facing some serious health challenges in April that really limited our ability to perform, but they never stepped back, never gave up. They kept coming back, kept working. We had heats at Sprints when boats were racing the first time with those lineups, and that takes some real guts.
"It was really, really inspiring," Hughes added. "Even if there were just a few seniors, I learned you can never underestimate the role of those guys. This year's senior class played a major role. Nick Mead, as a captain, made his mark. He's a quiet, hard-pulling guy, and the team adopted that virtue. It took a while to step into that role, and I think we'll recognize that faster next year. You can't just take for granted that it will happen."
But you can believe that this team will battle in the face of adversity, and that the best teams from the East Coast can truly emerge at the national championships. That is now proven.
Hughes also credited his coaching staff and support system, especially rigger Steve Hjuber — who drove Princeton's boats cross-country and back — for helping the heavyweights put forth another impressive postseason showing.
Varsity Eight Grand Final
Yale 5:29.900
Washington 5:29.969
Harvard 5:33.455
Princeton 5:33.786
California 5:36.260
Brown 5:36.950
Second Varsity Eight Grand Final
Washington 5:38.654
California 5:40.720
Princeton 5:40.777
Yale 5:40.824
Harvard 5:41.188
Boston Univ. 5:52.008
Third Varsity Eight Grand Final
Washington 5:47.289
Harvard 5:49.357
California 5:50.915
Yale 5:51.626
Princeton 5:52.739
Navy 5:54.981
Varsity Four Grand Final
Washington 6:23.811
California 6:28.354
Princeton 6:34.310
Boston Univ. 6:39.058
Marietta 6:39.805
Brown 6:40.772
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