Princeton Wins Third Straight Ivy League Title, Adds 2V Gold In Thrilling Day On Cooper River

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This isn't new territory for the junior duo of Claire Collins and Emily Kallfelz, but that certainly doesn't make it any less special. The first-team All-Ivy League tandem led the Princeton open women to a wire-to-wire victory Sunday afternoon on Cooper River to complete a perfect 2018 league season and return the Ivy League championship back to Princeton for a third straight year.

Princeton won its league-best 17th Ivy title, as well as its fifth in the last six years, in impressive fashion on a wet, challenging day in Pennsauken, N.J. With two higher-ranked programs challenging them for league supremacy, the Tigers wasted little time grabbing an advantage, and they made sure that edge never left their boat. A half-second lead at the 500 mark turned into a near two-second edge by the 1000, and the final half of the race was simply about keeping the hard-charging field behind them.

"I thought our race was strong," said Kallfelz, who stroked the Tiger 1V to the last two Ivy titles — she sat in the 5 seat during the 2016 championship run. "We really hit our stride in the middle of the piece and were able to walk a bit on the field. Everyone is super excited with the result and it makes it even sweeter seeing the hard work of our whole team paying off."

Ivy League Champions!!!!! pic.twitter.com/SOgEdTVzYo
— Princeton Open Women (@Tigerwcrew) May 13, 2018

Princeton won gold in 6:37.18, nearly three seconds faster than runner-up Yale. The drama at the wire actually surrounded the bronze finish, as Penn used a strong sprint to upset Brown for the final spot on the medal stand.

"It feels incredibly special," said Collins, who joined both Kallfelz and seniors Melissa Curtis and Kate Elfers as first-team All-Ivy League honorees. "We have worked so hard this year and taken some risks and made some changes in our training and it feels awesome for it to pay off. The race was exciting and hard and we have more and are ready to gain more speed in preparation for Florida. We will be ready."<>

Nothing like getting out of the boat as @IvyLeague champions! pic.twitter.com/hBq0fhTgYK
— Princeton Open Women (@Tigerwcrew) May 13, 2018

"I'm so psyched for the whole team especially the 2V," Collins added. "I am so proud of this team and so proud to be a Princeton student-athlete. A huge thank you to our coaches and everyone that helped us."

The 2V also won gold, marking its first Ivy championship since 2012. The senior-laden boat came into the weekend as the third seed, but the Tigers used an explosive final sprint to rally past Yale and grab the gold; the Tigers trailed by more than four seconds heading into the final 500, but they made that ground up in blazing fashion to win gold and claim serious momentum heading into the NCAA Championships, which will be held in two weeks in Sarasota, Fla.

"The 2v beat all odds," said head coach Lori Dauphiny. "They had a rocky season but they never gave up and in the end it all paid off. Their race was exactly that; they never gave in even when four seats down on the leader. They really stepped up and took on the challenge. I couldn't be prouder of them and the team."

Seniors Isabella Nappa and Ellie Sawyer added second-team All-Ivy League honors for Princeton, which also earned a medal in the V4B.

Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:37.18
Yale 6:40.04
Penn 6:43.97
Brown 6:44.64
Harvard 6:50.58
Dartmouth 6:52.16

Second Varsity Eight
Princeton 6:47.14
Yale 6:49.99
Brown 6:52.54
Harvard 7:03.52
Penn 7:07.35
Dartmouth 7:18.96

Varsity Four A (Petite)
Princeton 8:12.82
Columbia 8:22.13

Varsity Four B
Yale 8:02.70
Princeton 8:07.69
Brown 8:11.44
Cornell 8:12.72
Penn 8:14.08
Dartmouth 8:39.19

Varsity Four C
Brown 8:18.83
Columbia 8:33.07
Harvard 8:37.78
Princeton 8:44.26

Third Varsity Eight
Yale 7:09.78
Brown 7:14.27
Dartmouth 7:20.44
Princeton 7:33.30
Harvard 7:36.34

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