|
Princeton holds off strong finishing Navy and Columbia
On Saturday, March 28 the Princeton, Columbia and Navy's lightweights met in Princeton for the first race of the season.
The event matched up the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams from last year's National Championships (Navy, Princeton, and Columbia respectively). However, the conditions were less then perfect with a 20-25 mph tailwind and consistent whitecaps covering the race course. Official Results.
The varsity race was the closest one of the day. Princeton rocketed off the start to take an early one length lead and held it through the first 1500 meters. With 300 meters to go, both Navy and Columbia began to walk back on the Tigers. The margin closed to four seats when everyone crossed the line with Columbia edging out Navy for second place.
The beginning of the second varsity race was very similar with Princeton jumping out to an early lead, while Navy also managed to walk away from Columbia. The race ended with a little more than a length separating Princeton and Navy.
Both the first freshmen race and third varsity races were similar to the others with Princeton surprising Navy off the line to gain an early advantage. In the conditions, it was hard for the Midshipmen to fight back into their lead.
The only Navy win of the day saw the second freshmen lightweight boat beating Princeton and Navy's heavyweight counterparts. In the race, Navy's 2nd freshmen heavies got off the line first, while the lightweights managed to walk away from the Princeton heavyweight crew. At the halfway mark, the lightweights made a move and rowed through the Navy heavyweight boat and continued to open the margin against Princeton. It was a great win for the lightweight boat which was their first 2000-meter race ever.
|
