Courtesy: Beverly Schaefer The Princeton men's lightweights defeated Queen's University to win the Head of the Charles.

The Princeton men's lightweight crew, which was ranked No. 1 throughout last season and put forth a valiant IRA battle against eventual national champion Cornell at IRAs, got its 2008-09 season off to a good start. Greg Hughes' team topped Queen's University by 12.3 seconds and Harvard by more than 13 seconds to win its Head of the Charles competition.

"The guys had a great race today and it is not a bad way to start the season," Hughes said. "The Charles is a tricky course and a clean race is always important. We were able to stay out of trouble today and to make the most of the course wherever possible. The guys raced hard and I am pleased with this win. We have the Chase this coming weekend.  It’s our final race of the fall and we will be working hard to prepare for the racing."

The men's lightweights finished in 14:46.7, while Queen's finished in 14:59.0 and Harvard took third in 15:00.1. Cornell, Georgetown and Yale were among the other prominent college programs that finished in the Top 10 for the men's lightweights.

The women's lightweights finished second among American college programs. Vesper Boat Club won the overall competition, while 2008 IRA national champion Wisconsin finished third overall in 17:15.9. Princeton, led by head coach Paul Rassam, took fifth overall in 17:31.6; both Radcliffe and Stanford finished right behind Princeton.

The Princeton open women, who began the race in 24th position, finished eighth overall and fourth among college programs with a time of 16:43.9. The race was won by the London Training Center, while 2008 Eastern champion Yale finished third overall and first among college crews. The Princeton heavyweight men finished 35th overall with a time of 17:06.0; the Tigers were assessed a two-second penalty, which moved them out of a Top 12 finish.