As the sun set over Lake Carnegie this Sunday afternoon, it also set on the autumn racing season for the crews competing at the Princeton Chase, a highly anticipated head race for many top IRA and NCAA programmes. The nearly three-mile (4.5-kilometre) course drew some of the strongest Open and Lightweight collegiate crews in the country, each eager to make one final statement on the water before turning to the long, demanding months of winter training.
Men’s Heavyweight Eight
The Princeton Tigers dominated their home course, securing both gold and silver in the men’s heavyweight eight. The University of Pennsylvania, seeking to maintain momentum after redeeming itself at the Head of the Schuylkill, completed the podium with a hard-earned bronze. Farther down the field, slightly off the pace of the leaders, were Drexel and Georgetown University, with Princeton’s third eight splitting the two after an impressive performance. These crews all finished within eight-tenths of each other, stirring up some excitement for sure.
Women’s Eight
Yet again, Princeton took victory at home in the women’s eight, finishing less than one second ahead of runner-up University of Virginia. Virginia’s second eight put up a strong performance as well, coming in third place behind their fellow teammates and beating several other first eights, including the likes of Dartmouth and Rutgers. As we head into winter training, it will be exciting to see if the Cavaliers can carry their speed into the spring and make runs in the ACC and NCAA championships at the end of the season.
Men’s Lightweight Eight
After withdrawing from the IRA Championships last spring, the lightweights from Cornell have been on a tear this fall to show the world what could have been, and this weekend was no exception. The men from Ithaca dominantly took home gold, finishing ahead of second-place Pennsylvania by eight seconds. After finishing behind Georgetown in Boston a few weeks ago, Princeton got its revenge, rounding out the podium in third, a further 13 seconds behind.
Men’s Coxed Fours
We round out this review with the openweight fours, where, on the men’s side of things, Princeton yet again found themselves atop the podium. The Cornell lightweights certainly gave them a scare, however, putting up an impressive performance against their heavier competition with a strong second-place finish. This event saw much of the same, as teams with deeper rosters, such as Penn, Princeton, and Cornell, had multiple boats finish in the top ten, while others found themselves finishing farther down the field.
Women’s Fours
Virginia put up yet another strong showing in the fours, taking first and third ahead of competition like Rutgers and Oklahoma. Princeton made sure to stick itself in the mix, of course, keeping the Cavaliers from a one-two finish by a mere three-tenths of a second. The Tigers ended the day with a medal in every category, finishing out their fall season with confidence and momentum that they will surely look to carry into the spring.
