Ivy Champs Post Best NCAA Finish (5th) Since 2013; Princeton Posts 20th Top-10 Finish

COMPLETE RESULTS

The Princeton 1V posted its best NCAA finish since 2013, the senior-laden 2V raced past an Ivy League rival in its final strokes of the season, and the V4 put together a strong final day to complete a weekend that will leave the Tigers both excited for the present and inspired for the future.

The Tigers made it a year-long goal to produce a better championship weekend than they experienced in 2017, and they put it together during a weather-shortened NCAA weekend at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.

Princeton finished ninth overall in the team standings, its 20^th Top-10 finish in program history, and either held its seed or improved in all three competitions. Princeton ended Saturday with 92 points, a total that was only 12 points out of the Top 4. For the sake of comparison, Princeton finished 10^th last season, but the Tigers were 23 points out of the Top 4.

FIRST VARSITY
Princeton put forth an impressive effort in the NCAA final, and the Tigers posted their best finish since 2013 by placing fifth overall. There ended up being three smaller two-team showdowns, led by a Pac-12 battle between California and Washington for gold (which California won). Texas topped Stanford for third, which left Princeton vying for its 12^th Top-5 finish in program history. At the 1500-meter mark, the Tigers led Ohio State by about a second. Over the final 500 meters, Princeton built that into a five-second advantage, clinching a fifth-place finish.

Returning to the NCAA grand final had been a year-long mission for Princeton, and the Tigers were pushed to the brink by Big 10 power Michigan in its morning semifinal. Second-seeded Stanford got out on the field early, and Yale and USC both found themselves out of Top-3 contention fairly early.

That left the trio of Princeton, Texas, and Michigan battling for the final two spots in the championship final. The Tigers and the Longhorns traded the second spot over the middle 1000, though Texas held that position by a few seats when it hit the 1500-meter mark. Princeton held a similar lead over Michigan for the critical third position when both boats went into its final sprint.

This time, there would be no disappointment. Michigan made its move, but Princeton had the answer. The Tigers actually built its advantage over the final 500 to reach the biggest race in collegiate rowing, the NCAA grand final.

"Last year after our disappointing finish, we sat down and made a serious commitment to change the way we train," sophomore Ellie Sawyer said. "We have put in a lot of work since then, and it was so sweet to see that pay off today. We were so excited to qualify for the final, and we knew that our only shot was to race the first thousand as hard as we could to try and put ourselves in the race. It didn't exactly work out like that but it was so sweet to put Princeton back in the Top 5."

"I think we are excited to see what we can do next year with another training cycle under our belts," Sawyer said. "We are not losing any rowers out of the varsity so we are definitely in the hunt for more speed next season."

SECOND VARSITY
The 2V was able to conserve some energy in its semifinal, as a trio of high-seeded boats made a strong early push to grab a sizable advantage over the Tigers. Four boats, all seeded in the Top 7, ultimately raced for three spots, while both Princeton and Syracuse ultimately finished off the pace and turned their focus to the petite final.

That additional energy was on full display during the final strokes of its petite final. Stanford and Ohio State broke away early, but Princeton, Brown and Syracuse were locked in a three-team battle for the next three spots for the majority of the race. Brown looked in total control of the spot with about 200 to go, but the Tigers had a sprint reminiscent of the one that earned them an Ivy League gold.

Princeton made a huge push over the final strokes and caught Brown just before the wire to finish 3^rd in the race and ninth overall, topping its entry seed of 11^th.

VARSITY FOUR
The V4 was the class of its C/D semifinal, topping Navy by more than two seconds to earn a strong lane for the C final. The Tigers carried that momentum into the final, where it again got out to an early lead. Both Navy and Syracuse stayed within striking distance over the first 1000, but the Orange fell off the pace during the third 500.

Navy was within about a length with 500 to go, but Princeton had one strong sprint left in it, and the Tigers pushed away to win the final by about three seconds.

VARSITY EIGHT
Grand Final
California 6:14.86
Washington 6:16.54
Texas 6:17.80
Stanford 6:20.50
Princeton 6:23.34
Ohio State 6:28.53

Semifinal
Stanford 6:25.25
Texas 6:27.17
Princeton 6:29.37
Michigan 6:30.83
Yale 6:37.21
USC 6:38.71

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Petite Final
Stanford 6:34.11
Ohio State 6:36.60
Princeton 6:37.83
Brown 6:37.86
Syracuse 6:41.13
Iowa 6:41.92

Semifinal
Washington 6:28.73
Michigan 6:34.20
Texas 6:36.16
Stanford 6:38.03
Princeton 6:50.02
Syracuse 6:54.19

VARSITY FOUR
C Final
Princeton 7:26.61
Navy 7:29.58
Wisconsin 7:30.09
Syracuse 7:33.98
Southern California 7:37.41
Northeastern 7:54.12

Semifinal
Princeton 7:39.70
Navy 7:41.83
Syracuse 7:46.33
Central Florida 7:48.20
Jacksonville 8:21.04

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