Crew: Top-ranked women's teams win at Sprints

The women’s open and lightweight crews were undefeated in the regular season, and both lived up to high expectations at the Eastern championships in Cherry Hill, N.J. Both teams defeated top rivals from around the region to win championships at EAWRC Sprints.

The open crew, ranked first in the nation, entered the postseason in the same position in 2010 – undefeated and at the top of the rankings – but lost to Yale by less than one second. There was no repeat performance on Sunday, as the Tigers finished in six minutes, 20.48 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of second-place Brown.

With the victory, Princeton claimed its 11th Governor’s Cup and its first since 2006.

The second varsity boat, which also went 13-0 in the regular season, won its race in 6:36.37, edging Yale and Brown by three seconds. Princeton also claimed titles in the third varsity eight and the varsity four races.

The No. 1 women’s lightweight crew had similar success, winning its first Eastern championship since 2003. The varsity eight set an EAWRC course record with a time of 6:30.39, four seconds ahead of defending champion Wisconsin and 11 seconds clear of the other boats. Princeton went ahead early in the race and held onto the lead to maintain its perfect season.

The men’s crews traveled to the EARC Sprints in Worcester, Mass., where they hoped to recover from regular-season losses to claim championships. But a pair of top-seeded Crimson boats won the titles, while Princeton suffered finishes of second and fourth.

The men’s heavyweight crew, which lost only one race in the regular season, posted the best time in the qualifying heats to solidify its spot in the grand final. But Harvard excelled in the championship, claiming the Worcester Bowl for the second consecutive year in a fast 5:40.388. Princeton entered the race as the third seed but placed second in 5:42.370, edging Wisconsin by less than two-tenths of a second.

Harvard, which remained unbeaten in 2011, handed Princeton its only regular-season loss one month ago when it edged the Tigers by 1.2 seconds on Lake Carnegie. That marked the closest race the Crimson has faced all year.

The freshman eight also finished second to Harvard. The second varsity eight placed fourth, while the third boat – which qualified for the final by five-hundredths of a second – finished sixth.

The men’s lightweight crew was one of many boats in a competitive lightweight field. Princeton, the two-time defending EARC champion, won its first eight races of the season before finishing with a one-second loss at Harvard.

The Tigers won as the second seed in 2010, but they could not repeat that performance on Sunday. Princeton finished fourth in 5:49.906, more than four seconds behind the Crimson.

Dartmouth and Yale took second and third, respectively, finishing within two seconds of the leaders.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The crews will now prepare for the national championships. The women’s crew will compete at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif., on May 27-29. Top-ranked Princeton will be favored to win the title. The other crews will compete at the IRA Championships at Cherry Hill, N.J., on the first weekend of June.