Friday, June 1
West Windsor, N.J.
8:00 AM
Princeton University
vs
IRA Championships Day 1
Photo by: Joe Ratliffe '20
Lightweights Look To Repeat History, Navigate Through Tough Heat & Challenge For IRA Gold
May 30, 2018 | Men's Rowing - Lightweight
The first time the Princeton men's lightweight rowing team lost to Columbia this season, it ignited a staggering three-week stretch that included a course-record win over the reigning IRA champion on Lake Carnegie, and a dominant showing in the annual H-Y-P regatta on the Housatonic River.
If history repeats itself this weekend, the Tigers could be in store for quite the finale.
Three weeks after winning a silver medal at the Eastern Sprints, the second-ranked Princeton men's lightweight rowing team will make the short trip to Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., to compete for the 2018 IRA national championship. Columbia will enter the weekend as the favorite after winning gold at Sprints, one of two victories over Princeton this season that was decided by less than three seconds.
2018 IRA CHAMPIONSHIPS LINKS
That first loss, which came by 1.1 seconds at Overpeck Park, set off the brilliant regular season finish, culminating in the Goldthwait and Vogel Cup wins.
"HYP was a great confidence builder going into Sprints," said junior Danny Hogan. "It gave us experience racing away against two very talented and tough crews. The team-wide success also brought its own sense of pride in the work that we have done throughout the season. Sprints was a very similar experience. We had our best team performance since 2010 and raced well in all categories.
"While taking a loss to Columbia was a tough pill to swallow, the racing taught us where and how we can make up the three seconds that separated us," Hogan added. "Specifically, we simply have been trying to row faster. It may sound silly, but that focus can hold a lot of different meanings that have helped us to assess points of weakness in our racing."
Hogan is well aware that Columbia isn't the only boat to watch this weekend. Historically, men's lightweight rowing has been wildly unpredictable, especially when it came down to the final weekend of the year. And when you look at Princeton's opening heat, you realize just how challenging IRAs can be.
Princeton will open the IRA championships Friday at 8:50 am when the Tigers race in Heat #2 against Penn, Cornell and Yale. The top three will advance to the grand final Sunday at 11:40 am, and the Tigers will be the highest-seeded boat in the field. However, the other three crews will provide serious challenges:
• Penn earned bronze at Sprints, silver at the 2017 IRAs, and was within 2.5 seconds of Princeton last weekend
• Yale, which was the odd team out in its Sprints heat, led Princeton most of the way at H-Y-P and ultimately lost by only 1.2 seconds in that race
• Cornell is the reigning national champion and was basically even with the Tigers 1500 meters into their Lake Carnegie record-setting effort in mid-April.
One of those boats won't even make the national final. Buckle up.
"IRAs is always a blast," Hogan said. "It showcases the fastest boats that each team has developed throughout the season and allows us to race at one of the premier events and venues in rowing. The multiple weigh-ins for lightweights is a little undesirable but it doesn't take away from the excitement. If anything, it adds an extra layer to the competition. With only two more IRAs left in my career, I'm looking forward to diving headfirst into racing and not looking back."
Princeton will also race a four with coxswain and a four without coxswain, both of which will compete in heats later Friday morning. You can follow @princeton.lights on Instagram for photo and video updates of the racing weekend, and @tigerlights on Twitter for updates throughout.
VARSITY EIGHT
Friday • Heat • 8:50 am
Princeton, Penn, Cornell, Yale (lanes TBA)
Sunday • Grand Final • 11:40 am
V4+
Friday • Heat • 11:20 am
Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Yale, Princeton (lanes TBA)
Sunday • Grand Final • 9:10 am
V4-
Friday • Heat • 11:40 am
Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Penn (lanes TBA)
Sunday • Grand Final • 8:20 am
If history repeats itself this weekend, the Tigers could be in store for quite the finale.
Three weeks after winning a silver medal at the Eastern Sprints, the second-ranked Princeton men's lightweight rowing team will make the short trip to Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., to compete for the 2018 IRA national championship. Columbia will enter the weekend as the favorite after winning gold at Sprints, one of two victories over Princeton this season that was decided by less than three seconds.
2018 IRA CHAMPIONSHIPS LINKS
| Live Video | Live Results | Spectator Information |
| Schedule/Heat Draw | @TigerLights | Princeton's IRA History |
That first loss, which came by 1.1 seconds at Overpeck Park, set off the brilliant regular season finish, culminating in the Goldthwait and Vogel Cup wins.
"HYP was a great confidence builder going into Sprints," said junior Danny Hogan. "It gave us experience racing away against two very talented and tough crews. The team-wide success also brought its own sense of pride in the work that we have done throughout the season. Sprints was a very similar experience. We had our best team performance since 2010 and raced well in all categories.
"While taking a loss to Columbia was a tough pill to swallow, the racing taught us where and how we can make up the three seconds that separated us," Hogan added. "Specifically, we simply have been trying to row faster. It may sound silly, but that focus can hold a lot of different meanings that have helped us to assess points of weakness in our racing."
Hogan is well aware that Columbia isn't the only boat to watch this weekend. Historically, men's lightweight rowing has been wildly unpredictable, especially when it came down to the final weekend of the year. And when you look at Princeton's opening heat, you realize just how challenging IRAs can be.
Princeton will open the IRA championships Friday at 8:50 am when the Tigers race in Heat #2 against Penn, Cornell and Yale. The top three will advance to the grand final Sunday at 11:40 am, and the Tigers will be the highest-seeded boat in the field. However, the other three crews will provide serious challenges:
• Penn earned bronze at Sprints, silver at the 2017 IRAs, and was within 2.5 seconds of Princeton last weekend
• Yale, which was the odd team out in its Sprints heat, led Princeton most of the way at H-Y-P and ultimately lost by only 1.2 seconds in that race
• Cornell is the reigning national champion and was basically even with the Tigers 1500 meters into their Lake Carnegie record-setting effort in mid-April.
One of those boats won't even make the national final. Buckle up.
"IRAs is always a blast," Hogan said. "It showcases the fastest boats that each team has developed throughout the season and allows us to race at one of the premier events and venues in rowing. The multiple weigh-ins for lightweights is a little undesirable but it doesn't take away from the excitement. If anything, it adds an extra layer to the competition. With only two more IRAs left in my career, I'm looking forward to diving headfirst into racing and not looking back."
Princeton will also race a four with coxswain and a four without coxswain, both of which will compete in heats later Friday morning. You can follow @princeton.lights on Instagram for photo and video updates of the racing weekend, and @tigerlights on Twitter for updates throughout.
VARSITY EIGHT
Friday • Heat • 8:50 am
Princeton, Penn, Cornell, Yale (lanes TBA)
Sunday • Grand Final • 11:40 am
V4+
Friday • Heat • 11:20 am
Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Yale, Princeton (lanes TBA)
Sunday • Grand Final • 9:10 am
V4-
Friday • Heat • 11:40 am
Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Penn (lanes TBA)
Sunday • Grand Final • 8:20 am
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing - Lightweight
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