Saturday, April 7
Princeton, N.J.
8:15 AM
Princeton University
vs
Columbia and Penn (Childs Cup)
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Princeton Retains Childs Cup, Moves To 6-0 Before Showdown With Harvard
April 07, 2018 | Heavyweight Rowing
The fifth-ranked Princeton heavyweights won their ninth straight Childs Cup and 51st overall during a perfect morning regatta against both #14 Penn and #15 Columbia Saturday. The victory improved Princeton to 6-0 on the season, 2-0 in the Ivy League, and pushes them into a daunting three-week stretch with a high level of momentum.
Princeton has now won 24 of the last 25 races for the Childs Cup, the oldest trophy in collegiate rowing. Penn last won the Cup in 1993, but the Quakers looked hungry to bring it back to Philadelphia over the first 500 meters, as they battled the reigning Sprints medalists through the opening strokes of the race.
Ultimately, the power that has pushed Princeton to victories in each of the first three weekends this season showed itself during the second quarter of the race, where the Tigers were able to break into an open water lead. Though both Penn and Columbia waged a terrific race against each other throughout the final 1,000 meters, neither was able to make a dent in the Tigers' lead.
"We are all really pleased to get a decisive victory in our first Ivy League matchup, the field is always incredibly deep and we logged some solid wins across the board today," senior Will Chance said afterwards. "This weekend, we knew the competition would be hot, seared tuna hot, and we wanted to focus on how we could grab seat after seat and never be comfortable sitting at a certain margin. Our cox Matt Wylie did an excellent job of letting us know where we were in the race and identifying key spots where we were able to push out from the field."
"We knew that Penn were going to come out the blocks like a cut snake, so we were focused on being internal and locking in to our dominant base after the high strokes," Chance said of the race. "Around the 500 when Wylie let us know that Penn were still with us I whispered ahead of me to the 4 seat "potentially go now Tim" and we activated our next gear of power. Its great to get that kind of a challenge early in the race because its something thats hard to replicate in practice. Looking forward, we've got some tough opponents coming down the pipe and we know they're going to want to challenge us early. Our focus is on setting up a great piece in the first 500 and then pushing the pace with our relentless base speed where we believe we can separate ourselves from our opponents."
That was part of a third straight perfect morning for the Tigers, who claimed wins in all races to start a loaded morning on Lake Carnegie. The Princeton second varsity remained perfect with a resounding win over Columbia (17.4 seconds), while both the Tiger 3V and 4V were able to post sizable wins over Columbia in the first race of a loaded morning.
"It was a scrappy effort by our squad today and it was fun to watch all of the boats get after it out there," head coach Greg Hughes said. "We all know there's work still to do, but it's a good step forward for the season. The Childs Cup is a very special part of rowing's history and it is always an honor to win it. Keeping the Cup here in Princeton means a lot to our team."
Princeton will now head north to the Charles River, where the Tigers will face fourth-ranked Harvard for the Compton Cup. Princeton has won the Compton Cup in Boston only two times since 1957, but the most recent win came two years ago, when the Tigers edged Harvard by 1.5 seconds. Harvard got its revenge last season by going 3-0 against Princeton, though the dual in the IRA grand final was decided by less than .4 of a second.
"For me, this is the beginning of the run up to championship racing and I couldn't be more excited," Chance said. "There's a lot of tradition and history in the races between Princeton and Harvard and it's an honor to be a part of that tradition. Last year, we all agreed that we left something on the table in our races against Harvard. We won't make the same mistake again."
Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:03.9
Penn 6:09.2
Columbia 6:12.8
Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:12.7
Columbia 6:30.1
Penn 6:33.1
Third Varsity Eight
Princeton 3V 6:10.2
Princeton 4V 6:13.5
Columbia 6:36.1
Princeton 5V 6:46.4
Princeton has now won 24 of the last 25 races for the Childs Cup, the oldest trophy in collegiate rowing. Penn last won the Cup in 1993, but the Quakers looked hungry to bring it back to Philadelphia over the first 500 meters, as they battled the reigning Sprints medalists through the opening strokes of the race.
Ultimately, the power that has pushed Princeton to victories in each of the first three weekends this season showed itself during the second quarter of the race, where the Tigers were able to break into an open water lead. Though both Penn and Columbia waged a terrific race against each other throughout the final 1,000 meters, neither was able to make a dent in the Tigers' lead.
"We are all really pleased to get a decisive victory in our first Ivy League matchup, the field is always incredibly deep and we logged some solid wins across the board today," senior Will Chance said afterwards. "This weekend, we knew the competition would be hot, seared tuna hot, and we wanted to focus on how we could grab seat after seat and never be comfortable sitting at a certain margin. Our cox Matt Wylie did an excellent job of letting us know where we were in the race and identifying key spots where we were able to push out from the field."
"We knew that Penn were going to come out the blocks like a cut snake, so we were focused on being internal and locking in to our dominant base after the high strokes," Chance said of the race. "Around the 500 when Wylie let us know that Penn were still with us I whispered ahead of me to the 4 seat "potentially go now Tim" and we activated our next gear of power. Its great to get that kind of a challenge early in the race because its something thats hard to replicate in practice. Looking forward, we've got some tough opponents coming down the pipe and we know they're going to want to challenge us early. Our focus is on setting up a great piece in the first 500 and then pushing the pace with our relentless base speed where we believe we can separate ourselves from our opponents."
That was part of a third straight perfect morning for the Tigers, who claimed wins in all races to start a loaded morning on Lake Carnegie. The Princeton second varsity remained perfect with a resounding win over Columbia (17.4 seconds), while both the Tiger 3V and 4V were able to post sizable wins over Columbia in the first race of a loaded morning.
"It was a scrappy effort by our squad today and it was fun to watch all of the boats get after it out there," head coach Greg Hughes said. "We all know there's work still to do, but it's a good step forward for the season. The Childs Cup is a very special part of rowing's history and it is always an honor to win it. Keeping the Cup here in Princeton means a lot to our team."
Princeton will now head north to the Charles River, where the Tigers will face fourth-ranked Harvard for the Compton Cup. Princeton has won the Compton Cup in Boston only two times since 1957, but the most recent win came two years ago, when the Tigers edged Harvard by 1.5 seconds. Harvard got its revenge last season by going 3-0 against Princeton, though the dual in the IRA grand final was decided by less than .4 of a second.
"For me, this is the beginning of the run up to championship racing and I couldn't be more excited," Chance said. "There's a lot of tradition and history in the races between Princeton and Harvard and it's an honor to be a part of that tradition. Last year, we all agreed that we left something on the table in our races against Harvard. We won't make the same mistake again."
Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:03.9
Penn 6:09.2
Columbia 6:12.8
Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:12.7
Columbia 6:30.1
Penn 6:33.1
Third Varsity Eight
Princeton 3V 6:10.2
Princeton 4V 6:13.5
Columbia 6:36.1
Princeton 5V 6:46.4
Players Mentioned
/ Heavyweight Rowing
/ Heavyweight Rowing
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