Courtesy: Princeton Crew/Tom NowakThe Princeton lightweight women, coming off a second-place finish to national champion Stanford last weekend, will begin its Eastern portion of competition this weekend when they head to Bucknell.
In its first weekend of competition in the 2012 season, the Tigers placed second at the San Diego Crew Classic. Princeton, the reigning EAWRC champion and silver medalist at the 2011 IRA national championships, defeated five boats along the way in the battle for the Ludus Tours Cup Sunday in San Diego. The Cardinal won the event in 7:26.79, while Princeton took second in 7:33.79. No other boat finished within 10 seconds of the two, with the University of British Columbia taking third in 7:43.98.
Princeton is coming into the 2012 season with a far younger crew than it did last season, so the second-place finish this early in the season is a positive sign. Head coach Paul Rassam talked about the potential for a steep improvement this season during a 2012 preview video on GoPrincetonTigers.TV.
The Tigers came into the season ranked third in the first USRowing Collegiate Poll, behind only Stanford and Wisconsin. Princeton topped the Badgers in both the EAWRC and IRA grand finals.
Princeton will head to Lewisburg, Pa., this weekend to take on Bucknell, which came into the season ranked ninth nationally. Princeton topped Bucknell by 16.1 seconds in the regular season last year. The Tigers will make their home debut April 21 against Georgetown in The Class of 2006 Cup regatta.
