Solon Aposhian

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Watertown, Mass.
High School:
Phillips Exeter

Greg Hughes, who helped the Princeton lightweight crew win two national titles as an undergraduate, is in his second season as the head coach of the men’s lightweight crew. He led a young boat to a bronze medal at the IRA national championships two weeks after just missing out on the grand final at Eastern Sprints.

Prior to his current position, Hughes served as the assistant/novice coach for the Tiger men’s heavyweights. His freshman boat won the Eastern Sprints in 1998 and 2003 and went undefeated in both the 2002 and 2003 regular seasons. Hughes’ squad finished the 2003 season in grand style, claiming the Eastern Sprint title, the IRA national title and the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. Six of those rowers were in Princeton’s first varsity boat that won the Head of the Charles, the Eastern Sprints and the Henley Royal Regatta in the 2005-06 season.

In eight years as the head freshman coach at Princeton, his boat was a perfect 16 for 16 in reaching grand finals at both the Eastern Sprints and IRAs.
In 1999, Hughes co-coached the U.S. lightweight men’s 2- and the heavyweight 2+ at the World Championships, with the latter winning the gold. He co-coached the U.S. men’s eight and the men’s pair at the Under-23 World Championships in 2000, where the eight won a bronze medal. The next year, Hughes assisted Murtaugh in coaching the U.S. lightweight eight that won bronze at the World Championships. In 2002, Hughes coached the Under-23 men’s eight to a gold and the pair to a bronze at the World Championships. He also led the U.S. 4+ to a bronze medal at the 2004 World Championships. In 2005, Hughes coached the US men’s 4- which finished 4th at the Under-23 Worlds.

Hughes was a four-year lightweight rower under Murtaugh. A 1996 Princeton graduate, Hughes was undefeated in all of his four regular seasons and won two Eastern Sprints titles. He was an All-Ivy League rower on the 1994 and 1996 national championship lightweight crews. He served as team captain in 1996 and won the Gordon G. Sikes Award for the greatest contribution to Princeton lightweight crew. He would go on to be an alternate for both the 1997 and 1998 lightweight U.S. national teams.