Crew: Tough races bring mixed success

The fourth-ranked men’s heavyweight team placed second in the Compton Cup, beating MIT but falling to second-ranked Harvard. The loss gives the all-time edge in the race to the Crimson. The men did not fare much better on the lightweight side, with No. 4 Princeton losing to fourth-ranked Cornell (the teams share the spot in the national poll) in the Platt Cup by an excruciating .3 seconds.

The women’s teams, on the other hand, were more successful. The No. 5 lightweight Tigers took home the bronze medal in Knecht Cup, falling only to second-ranked Wisconsin and third-ranked Bucknell. Princeton finished ahead of all the teams ranked lower than the Tigers.

The No. 5 open team came in second in the Eisenberg Cup, falling to USC but defeating Yale. The victory over the Bulldogs was significant in keeping the women’s open team undefeated in Ivy League play, but the loss to the Trojans is the Tigers’ second this season. Combined with the loss to Michigan, the Tigers have lost two more times than they did in the last two seasons combined. Coming into this season having had two undefeated regular-season campaigns, this is uncharted water for the Tigers.

“Each of our races this season has showed us that we have things to work on — this race was no exception,” senior Kelly Pierce said. “It is always nice to win an Ivy League race, but margins across all boats in the league this year have been so close, it cannot be taken for granted that any win will be repeated. We have to keep pushing.”

While Pierce’s emphasis on not taking races for granted has to be a good sign, she also made sure to give credit to the Tigers for what they did well.

“I think this race was an improvement on past races,” Pierce said. “I think our responsiveness during this race was greater than in previous races.”

She did, however, mention with disappointment the ultimate loss to USC, not being used to the sting of defeat and holding her team to a very high standard.

“It obviously wasn’t a winning effort, however, and for that reason alone something has to change.”

The fact that a senior leader like Pierce will not tolerate a loss under any circumstances — even if it comes with a win against an Ivy League foe — is impressive and has to be a motivating force for the Tigers moving forward. The team, undefeated in Ivy League play, has improved over the course of the season and is highly ranked in the standings. Pierce cautioned reading too much into the two losses this season.

“Our two losses this year were to Michigan and USC — two teams that we did not at all race during our two-year undefeated regular-season run,” Pierce said. “For reasons like this, it’s hard to draw any conclusions about the future based on past results.”

Pierce also gave her evaluation of her team as it stands today. “Coming off the last two years when we had an undefeated regular season, I think it would be very easy to look at our two losses this year and make dire predictions about the future — I just don’t think that’s the case. Each crew develops at its own pace, and for that reason, it’s really hard to compare from year to year.”

Next week, the women’s lightweight team will race Georgetown, while the open team will face Penn and Dartmouth. The lightweight men will race Georgetown and Penn, and the heavyweight team will take on Cornell and Yale.