The 1975 Cup and the Childs Cup are in familiar hands. For the 11th and sixth times, respectively, the women's open and the men's heavyweight boats were able to coast to victory, capturing their respective trophies this weekend. Both the men's and women's lightweights placed second in their races.
The varsity eight heavyweight team continued its perfect record for the season, beating rivals Penn, Columbia and guest racer Temple. In the process, the Tigers won the Childs Cup — the oldest continuously challenged intercollegiate trophy in any sport.
The victory over Penn, however, did not come easily, a fact that didn't surprise the Tiger boat.
"We knew they were fast coming in," senior captain Dave Bordeau said.
After a fairly even beginning, Penn and Princeton emerged from the pack as the front-runners. The Tiger boat enjoyed a slim lead throughout most of the race, with about two seats separating the two crews.
With 400 meters to go, Penn mounted a push and was able to sprint ahead of Princeton. A late surge by the Tigers, however, enabled the crew to capture a narrow victory in a time of five minutes, 44.80 seconds — less than a second ahead of Penn's 5:45.51 finish.
The women's open team, meanwhile, garnered its 11th straight 1975 Cup, beating Radcliffe, Cornell and guest racer Miami.
"We had a 'bring it on' mentality," senior co-captain Sarah Cooke said.
The Tigers opened up strong, taking a lead of a couple seats on Radcliffe and Cornell. Not far from the 1000-meter mark, Radcliffe mounted a push to pull even with the Tiger boat. Yet the Princeton crew would not let it stay around too long as the Tigers began a push of their own shortly thereafter and opened up a lead they continued to build on in the third 500 meters.
Princeton won in 6:40.30, about four seconds faster than Radcliffe. Both varsity four boats lost to the first and second Cornell boats, respectively.
Opening day for the men's lightweights ended in a second-place finish as the Tigers defeated Cornell but were unable to outlast a tough Rutgers squad.
Counterpush
In the varsity eight, Princeton jumped out to about a two-seat lead over Rutgers, a position it held for the first 1000 meters. Near the halfway mark, however, Rutgers countered, pushing ahead of the Tiger crew and never looking back.
"Rutgers really owned the third 500," senior co-captain Bill Fedyna said.
The Scarlet Knights were able to cruise to an open water victory in a time of 5:55.10 — about six seconds faster than Princeton's 6:01.26 finish.
"The whole race was executed how we wanted it," Fedyna said. "Rutgers was just the better crew."
The women's lightweight varsity eight boat, rowing against three competitive schools — Wisconsin, Villanova and Brown — finished second just behind the Badgers. The Tigers had raced and beaten Wisconsin — co-ranked No. 1 with Princeton before the race — and Villanova decisively in the San Diego Classic two weeks ago. The conditions were slightly different this weekend, however, as Villanova has since altered its lineup and Wisconsin caught a crab in the race.
Villanova started strong early, pushing in front of Wisconsin and Princeton, which held basically even for second place. Wisconsin made a move near the halfway mark, pulling ahead of Princeton and Villanova to occupy the lead for good. Princeton, with a strong performance over the second 1000 meters, was able to sneak by Villanova for a second-place finish in a time of 7:03.78 — less than a second faster than Villanova and about two seconds slower than the Badgers. Brown placed fourth.
"Our main focus was making a move in the middle," sophomore Linda Loyd said. "We thought we were a lot more effective with that than in San Diego."
In a very tight women's varsity four race, the Tigers lost to the Badger boat by a mere .05 seconds.
Read More
‘Not an accomplishment, but a responsibility’: Princeton Football names captains
Alex Beverton-SmithPrinceton football named five captains this past week, as the season looks to get underway next Saturday versus Lehigh.
Princeton football named five captains this past week, as the season looks to get underway next Saturday versus Lehigh.
Second-half barrage lifts women’s soccer over Drexel in 2–1 comeback win
Tate HutchinsDespite a slow offensive start for Princeton, they were able to fight off the upset threat from Drexel with a relentless second-half offensive attack that gave them the 2–1 victory.
Despite a slow offensive start for Princeton, they were able to fight off the upset threat from Drexel with a relentless second-half offensive attack that gave them the 2–1 victory.
Princeton men’s soccer picks up first win of the season
Lily PampolinaAfter consecutive losses to start the season, the men’s soccer team picked up their first win of the season against the St. John’s Red Storm on Tuesday night.
After consecutive losses to start the season, the men's soccer team picked up their first win of the season against the St. Johns Red Storm on Tuesday night.
