Early Speed & Enthusiam Powers Princeton To 2017 Ivy League Championship

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The top-seeded Princeton women's rowing team knew that both Yale and Brown would be top challengers Sunday for the 2017 Ivy League title. Both programs pushed the Tigers during their perfect regular season, and both already claimed golds during other grand finals on Cooper River.

Princeton believed it had the speed to hold off both challengers, though, and the Tigers didn't waste any time in showing it.

Princeton used a brilliant start to gain a significant lead by the first 500 meters and never led either Top-10 boat get within contact to claim the 2017 Ivy League championship. The Tigers, who finished in 6:07.38, won their second straight crown, as well as their third in the last four years.

Even more impressively, Princeton set the Cooper River course record in its brilliant championship effort.

"Our goal wasn't really to have a fast start, but really just start with the mindset of pouncing on the first stroke," said sophomore Emily Kallfelz, who has been part of a gold medal-winning varsity eight in each of her first two seasons at Princeton. "We wanted to make our first move really potent. We did, and I think as expected, the surge of confidence that comes with that really propelled us through the first half of the race.

"It definitely was our best race of the season," she added. "I'm very proud of not just our result, but being able to stay internal in such competitive conditions and capitalize on the breakthroughs we have had in the past few weeks of practice."

While the 1V was undefeated during the season, it had more than its share of challenges. Four of Princeton's 11 opponents this season were within three seconds of the Tigers, but none managed to get their bow ball in front of Princeton's at the line. While some of that comes from the sheer talent in the Tiger boat, Kallfelz knows plenty more went into this championship season.

"I think our boat first of all just gets along really well, which translates well to working together on the water," she said. "But also, what is interesting is that our boat runs on enthusiasm that we spread to each other. We perform our best when everyone is excited and confident, no matter the obstacles and conditions. We have gotten really good at knowing how to pump each other up and keep each other motivated, which is pretty special."

The Tigers won five medals during the regatta, including a silver medal in the 2V showdown. The varsity four took bronze, and all three are assured of the opportunity to race May 26-28 at the 2017 NCAA Championships; Princeton clinched its berth by claiming the Ivy League's automatic bid.

"It takes a team to win the Ivy championship," head coach Lori Dauphiny said. "We are proud of the program and all of their accomplishments this season. Five or our six crews medaled today. They really made it happen."

Varsity Eight
1 Princeton 6:07.38
2 Brown 6:11.39
3 Yale 6:14.53
4 Penn 6:22.78
5 Harvard 6:23.59
6 Columbia 6:28.87

Second Varsity Eight
1 Brown 6:17.692
2 Princeton 6:20.575
3 Yale 6:24.26
4 Penn 6:28.52
5 Harvard 6:33.70
6 Cornell 6:45.85

Varsity 4A
1 Yale 7:05.27
2 Brown 7:06.64
3 Princeton 7:08.50
4 Penn 7:18.35
5 Harvard 7:23.89
6 Columbia 7:28.24

Varsity 4B
1 Yale 7:14.75
2 Princeton 7:17.15
3 Harvard 7:27.96
4 Brown 7:31.59
5 Columbia 7:33.89
6 Cornell 7:40.41

Varsity 4C
1 Brown 7:32.19
2 Penn 7:35.81
3 Princeton 7:42.86
4 Columbia 8:01.26

Third Varsity Eight
1 Brown 6:34.27
2 Yale 6:38.44
3 Harvard 6:39.17
4 Cornell 6:48.82
5 Princeton 7:07.60
6 Dartmouth 7:18.14

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