Crew: Women’s crews remain undefeated

Competing on a slow course on familiar water, the women’s lightweight crew easily defeated fifth-ranked Georgetown, finishing 17 seconds ahead of the Hoyas in 7 minutes 39.3 seconds. The victory improves the team to 8-0 in the regular season, which includes victories over six opponents ranked in the top 10 nationally.

The Tigers have won every race by more than seven seconds and defeated seven of their eight opponents by 10 seconds or more.

The race had originally been scheduled for April 16 at Georgetown, but unfavorable conditions forced the date and location to be moved to Lake Carnegie. Princeton’s A and B boats finished first and second in the varsity four race, well ahead of Georgetown’s entry.

The women’s open crew also remained undefeated, easily downing three teams later that morning. The varsity eight finished in 6:51.1, 12 seconds ahead of Virginia, with Columbia and Tennessee behind them.

Princeton finishes the regular season a perfect 13-0, only the second time the team has won more than 12 races in one year. The 2006 squad, which eventually won the NCAA championship, defeated one more opponent en route to a 14-0 record.

The Tigers won the second and third varsity eight races, while Virginia took both varsity four competitions.

The women’s open and lightweight crews will both head into the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges Sprints on May 15 as the favorites to win the Eastern championship. Each finished second in the meet last year, as the lightweights lost to Wisconsin while Yale ended the open crew’s perfect season by a margin of less than one second.

The men’s heavyweight crew also earned a victory at home on Saturday, edging out Brown for the first time in five seasons to claim the Content Cup. Princeton came in at 6:02.1, 2.6 seconds ahead of the Bears, to improve to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Ivy League.

The hosts won the second varsity and novice races, while Brown won the third varsity competition.

The lone Princeton crew to travel was also the only one to lose, as the top-ranked men’s lightweights were defeated at Harvard by one second. The Crimson took the Goldthwait Cup in 6:03.7, while Yale finished in third place.

Harvard also defeated the Tigers in the tight second varsity race, while the Bulldogs took the other three competitions.

The defeat puts Princeton in a similar position as it was last year, when the Crimson denied its bid for a perfect season by seven-tenths of a second. The Tigers recovered to win the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Sprints and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships, a feat they hope to match this season.