Crew: Path to redemption starts in ‘pain cave’

This weekend’s races are special for each of the teams. For the heavyweight men, Saturday will be about avenging a loss to Harvard. Last year, Princeton’s first varsity boat lost to Harvard three times: In head-to-head competition, at Eastern Sprints and at the national championship. For the sophomores in particular, Saturday’s race will have a special meaning; last year, as rowers in Princeton’s freshman boat, they also lost to Harvard three times. The story of how they lost and how they clawed back, getting closer each time, reveals much about a painful and challenging sport.

Looking back, sophomore Paul Popescu, the stroke seat of the freshman eight, said, “Last year, it was all mental.” Before they even made it to the start line, their coach, Spencer Washburn ’05, had built the hype above and beyond what was necessary. “We were just too amped up,” Popescu recalls. Harvard came out strong. Princeton was frantic. The adrenaline was too high. The Tigers couldn’t find their rhythm, and the Crimson walked out and stayed out.

“Yeah, Spencer really just got us too excited,” sophomore coxswain Rebecca Smaha said. The start was always on the slow side, but the base was strong, she added. “We were used to a lead in the beginning, and when Harvard stayed with us after the settle, we freaked out” — that was where the Crimson began to peel away, she said.

Upon further reflection, however, it is clear that on that Saturday, Harvard was objectively better. In a hard-fought battle, the Crimson crew had more speed.

“They were faster,” sophomore Mark Dillon said very matter-of-factly. “Sure, mental game is important, but on that day, they were better than us.” He gave no defense and made no excuses: Harvard knew how to move together, how to hit their stride and how to move their boat quickly down the course, he said.

To make a crew fast, you need both the mental and physical components. One does not work without the other. The two are inextricably tied in what head coach Greg Hughes ’96 calls the “pain cave.”

Many value crew for the physical factors: What you put in is what you get out. Talent takes a backseat to dedication and hard work. While genetic factors for body type play a role, the general consensus is that if you are willing to go the extra mile, there are no limits to your speed.

The mental factors become apparent when the best rowers, who have put in the training and who are physically fast, have a bad day. They can lose every seat race for a week. Rowing is interconnected: It is about moving together, finding a rhythm to share with eight other people. A loss of focus, even for just one stroke, can throw the entire boat off balance.

In this sense, the only solution to a loss is to come back for a rematch with more mental and physical game. After losing to a better crew, the rowers can only resolve to become more familiar with the pain cave. Winners, according to Hughes, know how to stay in the pain cave. They push their bodies to the brink, beyond exhaustion. The winners stay in that cave the longest while rowing the best.

Last year, Harvard’s freshmen rowed in the pain cave together longer. They kept their technique as their bodies hurt, and they kept the pressure on. They didn’t back down, and they won. Coaches often ask their team, “Do you want it?” Well, the winners in crew are those who want it most — the ones who stick it out in the pain cave longer, not just during a race but every day at practice.

At this duel race last year, Princeton finished exactly six long seconds after Harvard. Starting with the three-mile row back to the boathouse that Saturday, those freshmen rededicated themselves to the pain cave. The next time the two teams met, at Eastern Sprints, Princeton again finished six seconds behind Harvard. Undeterred, another month later at the national championships, Princeton finished only two seconds behind.

This weekend, those former Princeton freshmen have another shot. They won’t be racing in their freshman boat, but they will be facing the same Crimson competition. This time, Popescu has a different approach. “You have to focus on what is under your control, and in a side-by-side crew race, the only thing under your control is your own performance,” he said.

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Every rower will make it through the 2,000 meters to the finish line. It is only a matter of how fast. When the going gets tough, each rower is tempted to take an easy stroke and leave the pain cave. What the winners know is that it will still hurt at the end. No matter how many easy strokes you take, the pain will be there. The difference is whether you couple your pain with pride in your battle inside the cave or the disappointment in a subpar performance.

On Saturday, the heavyweight men will travel to Boston to race MIT and Harvard for the Compton Cup, the lightweight men will host Cornell for the Platt Cup, the open women will host USC and Yale for the Eisenberg Cup and the lightweight women will travel to Cherry Hill, N.J., to race for the Knecht Cup. All of the teams have a battle to fight in the pain cave, a score to settle.

As Princeton’s bow ball crosses the finish line, the red flag will come down, and the air horn will sound. The oars will slap down on the water. The rowers will double over in exhaustion gasping for air. Who has stayed in the pain cave longer is yet to be seen. The team that will claim victory is still unknown.

Emi Alexander is a sophomore on the women’s open crew.