Friday, June 1
West Windsor, N.J.
8:00 AM
Princeton University
vs
IRA Championships
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
For The Second Time In 10 Years, The Tiger Women's Lightweights Capture V8 Medals At Consecutive IRAs
June 03, 2018 | Women's Rowing - Lightweight
Senior captain Emily Schneider remembered the days when the Princeton women's lightweight rowing team was battling to avoid the repechage at IRAs, and trying to find every positive along the way of a demanding rebuild.
Those days were rough, but they made the final day of her collegiate rowing career all the sweeter.
Princeton repeated as the IRA bronze medalist Sunday morning with a third-place finish on a grueling Mercer Lake course in the national final. A powerful headwind that would ultimately cause the official cancelation of both the fours and the pair finals (though both would ultimately race Sunday … more on that later) forced the seven crews in the lightweight final to find every ounce of strength and rhythm that they had built over the spring.
Ultimately, Stanford was able to handle the conditions better than its opponents to repeat as IRA champions. Princeton and Boston University, the top two crews from Eastern Sprints last month, battled it out for the next two medal spots. The higher-seeded Terriers were able to hold off a Princeton charge for silver, but the Tigers were more than four seconds faster than Georgetown for the bronze medal.
"Challenging. Definitely challenging," Schneider said of the Mercer Lake conditions. "There was a moment about 1k in when Megan, our coxswain, reminded us to stay internal and to keep thinking about how we were feeling as a unit, as a boat, and not worry about position with the other boats. I thought that really helped us lock in and focus on our rhythm, our collection, and stay on top of the piece and make it as good as it could be."
The finish marked only the second time in a decade that Princeton earned V8 medals at back-to-back IRA Championships (2010-11 was the first). The Tigers have now medaled at three of the last four IRAs, something that hasn't happened in more than a decade.
Yes, the rebuild was a challenge, but it was necessary as the sport of women's lightweight rowing made significant growth over the last decade. Head coach Paul Rassam and his team, led by the Class of 2018 and previous senior classes, have navigated their way back to the elite tier in the sport.
"It's a little unreal," she said. "If you told me four years ago that I would be getting a medal on the podium of the national championships, I would not have believed you. We've put in so much hard work, and it's the most rewarding thing in the world to see it pay off."
AFTERNOON UPDATE: When the IRA canceled the fours and double finals, the teams decided to make the short trip to the more protected Lake Carnegie course, where all finals were unofficially held. It would be an especially sweet finish for senior Madeline Travnik, who could never have imagined racing one more time on her home course, but she teamed with freshman Lauren Sanchez to win the double in thrilling fashion, topping a Tulsa pair by less than half a second. The four took sixth in its unofficial final, which was won by Stanford.
"Our double showed that they are the class of the field in the heats and they showed they are the class of the field in this unofficial final," head coach Paul Rassam said. "It's a bit heartbreaking that our senior Madeline Travnik did not get to stand on the official medal stand as an outgoing senior, but to me this double is the best double in the country and they are champions."
"I am so happy that we ran this race on the Carnegie," Rassam added. "All the athletes from all the teams deserved it. To see the Stanford four rejoice after their win, to see our double elated, this racing mattered to them all."
WOMEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND FINAL
Stanford 7:12.373
Boston University 7:17.616
Princeton 7:20.543
Georgetown 7:24.563
Radcliffe 7:33.483
MIT 7:39.733
Wisconsin 7:41.210
DOUBLE FINAL (Unofficial • Raced On Lake Carnegie)
Princeton 7:52.14
Tulsa 7:52.55
Wisconsin 8:07.41
Stanford 8:11.27
Georgetown 8:44.87
FOURS FINAL (Unofficial • Raced On Lake Carnegie)
Stanford 7:26.06
Wisconsin 7:41.40
Boston University 7:45.74
Georgetown 7:52.34
Princeton 8:00.62
Radcliffe 8:06.03
Those days were rough, but they made the final day of her collegiate rowing career all the sweeter.
Princeton repeated as the IRA bronze medalist Sunday morning with a third-place finish on a grueling Mercer Lake course in the national final. A powerful headwind that would ultimately cause the official cancelation of both the fours and the pair finals (though both would ultimately race Sunday … more on that later) forced the seven crews in the lightweight final to find every ounce of strength and rhythm that they had built over the spring.
Ultimately, Stanford was able to handle the conditions better than its opponents to repeat as IRA champions. Princeton and Boston University, the top two crews from Eastern Sprints last month, battled it out for the next two medal spots. The higher-seeded Terriers were able to hold off a Princeton charge for silver, but the Tigers were more than four seconds faster than Georgetown for the bronze medal.
"Challenging. Definitely challenging," Schneider said of the Mercer Lake conditions. "There was a moment about 1k in when Megan, our coxswain, reminded us to stay internal and to keep thinking about how we were feeling as a unit, as a boat, and not worry about position with the other boats. I thought that really helped us lock in and focus on our rhythm, our collection, and stay on top of the piece and make it as good as it could be."
The finish marked only the second time in a decade that Princeton earned V8 medals at back-to-back IRA Championships (2010-11 was the first). The Tigers have now medaled at three of the last four IRAs, something that hasn't happened in more than a decade.
Yes, the rebuild was a challenge, but it was necessary as the sport of women's lightweight rowing made significant growth over the last decade. Head coach Paul Rassam and his team, led by the Class of 2018 and previous senior classes, have navigated their way back to the elite tier in the sport.
"It's a little unreal," she said. "If you told me four years ago that I would be getting a medal on the podium of the national championships, I would not have believed you. We've put in so much hard work, and it's the most rewarding thing in the world to see it pay off."
AFTERNOON UPDATE: When the IRA canceled the fours and double finals, the teams decided to make the short trip to the more protected Lake Carnegie course, where all finals were unofficially held. It would be an especially sweet finish for senior Madeline Travnik, who could never have imagined racing one more time on her home course, but she teamed with freshman Lauren Sanchez to win the double in thrilling fashion, topping a Tulsa pair by less than half a second. The four took sixth in its unofficial final, which was won by Stanford.
"Our double showed that they are the class of the field in the heats and they showed they are the class of the field in this unofficial final," head coach Paul Rassam said. "It's a bit heartbreaking that our senior Madeline Travnik did not get to stand on the official medal stand as an outgoing senior, but to me this double is the best double in the country and they are champions."
"I am so happy that we ran this race on the Carnegie," Rassam added. "All the athletes from all the teams deserved it. To see the Stanford four rejoice after their win, to see our double elated, this racing mattered to them all."
WOMEN'S LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND FINAL
Stanford 7:12.373
Boston University 7:17.616
Princeton 7:20.543
Georgetown 7:24.563
Radcliffe 7:33.483
MIT 7:39.733
Wisconsin 7:41.210
DOUBLE FINAL (Unofficial • Raced On Lake Carnegie)
Princeton 7:52.14
Tulsa 7:52.55
Wisconsin 8:07.41
Stanford 8:11.27
Georgetown 8:44.87
FOURS FINAL (Unofficial • Raced On Lake Carnegie)
Stanford 7:26.06
Wisconsin 7:41.40
Boston University 7:45.74
Georgetown 7:52.34
Princeton 8:00.62
Radcliffe 8:06.03
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Women's Rowing - Lightweight
/ Women's Rowing - Lightweight
Princeton Athletics 2023-24 Highlights
Tuesday, June 04
Highlights from 2022 Gary Walters ’67 PVC Awards Banquet
Wednesday, June 22
Sights and Sounds: Women's Lightweight Rowing 2022 IRA Championship
Tuesday, June 07
Princeton Athletics 2021-22 Highlights
Monday, June 06