2007 Eastern Sprints Preview

It was at the 2006 Sprints that the "Big 3" lightweight crews first received notice that the lightweight world was changing. Georgetown rode their third place finish to a silver medal at IRAs, breaking the Wisconsin-Radcliffe-Princeton hold on the top three places at both Sprints and IRAs. That trend seems set to continue this year.

Eastern Sprints are usually marked by re-matches, as crews have faced each other several times before. This year, however, the first and second ranked crews in the nation will meet for the first time this season. Through a scheduling quirk, Princeton was at Windermere during the Knecht Cup, and the Badgers only had the pleasure of defeating Georgetown and Radcliffe from the Sprints league (MIT was also racing elsewhere). This clash of Titans doesn't need much in the way of hype, so I'll just note that Wisconsin is given the number one seed by margins vs. common opponents, the coaches' poll, and cMax. Common sense tells you to agree, but races like this are too unpredictable to allow yourself to made a fool of by common sense. Besides, Georgetown, Radcliffe, and MIT might have something to say about the outcome as well. Each of these crews has been steadily improving, and it's an open question whether they can catch the two favorites. Don't forget, heading into this race, Georgetown is in a very similar position to last year, and MIT just might find the speed that allowed it to beat the Hoyas in Boston in the fall. You can hear Radcliffe Coach Cecile Tucker discuss her squad's chances here.

A further sign of the strengthening of the category is the addition this year of a 2V eight event. Princeton, Radcliffe, Georgetown, and Wisconsin will face off in this race. With the exception of Wisconsin, all of these boats have raced each other, with the Tigers rising to the top. With Wisconsin the unknown boat in this race, the outcome becomes less predictable. It's not clear who Wisconsin will use to crew this boat, so its speed is impossible to predict. If strength of program means anything, however, it should be fast.

If any race seems like a foregone conclusion, it's the five boat novice eight event. Radcliffe has shown itself to be head and shoulders above the rest of the field, as it cruised to open water victories in all of its races. Princeton and Georgetown have traded wins, while MIT's ability to boat a competitive novice eight speaks well of its future strength.

At this point I should note that there is a rumor that four Radcliffe novice rowers have been pulled into the varsity eight (or 2V?). I would be surprised if this were true because I think Radcliffe is more likely to let the novices take a well deserved run at the Sprints novice title, and worry about putting together a new varsity combination in the weeks between Sprints and IRAs. Nonetheless, these rumors often have some basis in fact.

The light four is casualty of this year's new 2V event, but I think it has given its life in a worthy cause. I suspect that MIT wouldn't agree with me, since they seem to have had the fastest Sprints league four throughout the season. Nonetheless, without the Title IX inspired, money driven quantity of rowers found elsewhere, few lightweight programs would have the 32 athletes needed to boat three eights and a four.

Also new at Sprints this year, is the Konrad Ulbrich Team Point Trophy for lightweight teams. The Radcliffe Web site notes that this trophy honors "Konrad Ulbrich, a dedicated father who never missed a race during the time that his daughters rowed for Radcliffe." Before anyone gets grumpy wondering why a Radcliffe father gets this honor, I'll remind you that it was Radcliffe who kept women's lightweight rowing alive through some very dark years. It only seems fitting that the trophy should have a Radcliffe connection. If you want another reason, spend a minute reading about this guy. As goofy as you know I think point trophies are, even I'd like to win this one! Read to the end to learn about his family, "none of whom has ever lived up to his expectations (yet!)."

Comment Clarification

In a comment to my post, "The End of URI Lightweights?,"a reader stated that URI would be racing at EARWC Sprints as a guest team. The ECAC has clarified this by saying that has yet to be determined. I am told that

Both Holy Cross and URI have applied for membership to the EAWRC and both are contending for the opening that exists this year. The results of the Knecht Cup this weekend will help determine which team gets invited, or if neither will be invited.

2V at Sprints!

In another sign of growth for women's lightweight rowing, the 2007 EAWRC Eastern Sprints will include a women's lightweight 2v event. The Eastern Sprints schools of Wisconsin, Radcliffe, Princeton, and Georgetown all have varsity lightweight programs and should be able to support this event. I would guess that the coaches have been talking about it for a few years and it's nice to see the ECAC respond.

News Flash: Lake Mendota Has Thawed

Wisconsin won its second straight Eastern Sprints title at the Cooper River today by 6 seconds over Radcliffe. Georgetown followed 3 seconds later with Princeton fourth, another 7 seconds back. The Badgers followed their annual springtime rite, losing early in the season and winning later, when it counts. The finish of this race was nearly set at 500 meters in as Wisconsin grabbed the early lead, followed by Radcliffe, then Princeton and Georgetown. The Hoyas passed Princeton in the middle 1000, but no one was going to catch Wisconsin. They rowed powerfully down the course, all crews rowing around a 35, and never seemed to be in danger of relinquishing their lead. Radcliffe hung with them for a while, but with the inevitability of death and taxes the Badgers opened on the field. If Radcliffe wasn't prepared for Wisconsin's speed, they learned early what a mistake that was. Georgetown, meanwhile, seemed to have only one thing on its mind - Princeton. They smelled blood in the water on Lake Carnegie and meant to go for the kill on the Cooper.

Speaking of Princeton, schadenfreude was the order of the day. Georgetown, who may have never beaten the Tigers, celebrated as if they had just won the gold. Radcliffe, avenging an earlier loss to Princeton, looked awfully happy for second place. Princeton, working on winning the Sybil award at the end of the season, had a row so bad that it defies explanation. For the Tigers, this race was like Paula Radcliffe's Olympic marathon. It was like the New Zealand women's pair's heat in the Athens Olympics. It was Mitch Williams pitching to Joe Carter. Somebody else showed up in Black and Orange, and there's no point in trying to figure out who it was. There was a wounded tiger along the Cooper today, and a lot of people were poking it with a stick. Just don't turn your back as you walk away.

In the fours, Princeton's "Rule of Four" won, taking what is the closest we have to a lightweight four national championship. The Tigers were 4 seconds ahead of Radcliffe, which was 3 seconds ahead of Princeton's B boat. MIT, Wisconsin, Radcliffe B, and Georgetown rounded out the field. Princeton's four ends the season undefeated. MIT, continuing its strong season, dropped back a bit from Knecht, but was only 4 seconds out of second place.

Princeton also won the frosh eight, finishing 7 seconds ahead of Wisconsin. Another 7 seconds back was Radcliffe, followed by MIT and Georgetown. The Princeton frosh were undefeated among lightweights this year, losing only to three heavyweight boats at the Knecht Cup, 50 minutes after racing the lightweight frosh final. At one point in this race, the announcer actually said Princeton picked up a boat length in ten strokes - that's a power ten!

So, to no one's surprise, we leave Eastern Sprints with a reordered V8 ranking. The good news for everyone but Wisconsin is that now we head into the one race that counts the most. It's October baseball - a new season with the power to wash away everything that's gone on before. The carnival stops at the Cooper one more time and anything can happen. Throughout the season there are polls and rankings, rivalries and revenge, but in three weeks we discover what is real and what is not. Wisconsin will enter IRAs with the pressure of the "favorite" label, Radcliffe will enter with the pressure of trying to prove it really is back, and Georgetown will enter with the pressure of being favored for bronze. Oddly, Princeton may be in the best position of all - underdog.

Eastern Sprints

After Dad Vail concludes, Eastern Sprints arrives on the scene Sunday in Camden, just across the river from Philadelphia. If you’re in the area for Vails, you’ve got an all rowing weekend in the making.

The upper end of the lightweight rankings will be competing, with one surprising new face – Brown in the light four. You don’t usually see boats of opportunity at Sprints, but Brown hasn’t exactly put out press releases about its new lightweight program, so that’s apparently just what this is. The field is eight strong, including Radcliffe and Princeton B boats. Also competing are MIT, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. Princeton has been winning races all year and should be the favorite in this race. At Knecht, MIT surprised the field and finished second so we’ll see if they’ve maintained that speed. Georgetown was relegated to the petites at Knecht and would no doubt love to redeem themselves here. After beating Radcliffe in the heat at Knecht, Wisconsin finished the final 0.3 seconds behind the Black and White and will not be anxious to have that happen again. Brown, meanwhile, is an unknown quantity. This race has some great storylines to make it more than a simple rematch, not to mention the newcomer thrown into the mix.

The novice eight at Sprints is a five boat final among MIT, Radcliffe, Princeton, Wisconsin, and Georgetown. The Princeton frosh have been the cream of the crop all season but with Wisco second at Knecht, they can’t afford to rest on their laurels. It can’t be said often enough that Wisconsin gets much faster as the season goes on and they’d surely get special Badger treats Sunday night if they could knock off the Tigers. Both Radcliffe and Georgetown have shown themselves to be faster than they were at Knecht in dual races with Princeton so they’re not exactly throwing in the towel. At Knecht, MIT suffered equipment breakage so their true speed is unknown. They’ll have some special motivation here.

The V8 field mirrors the frosh field with the exception of MIT. Although the V8s are ranked, and there is a number one, a number two, and a number three, the fact of the matter is that among Princeton, Radcliffe, and Wisconsin the race is a toss up, with Georgetown close behind. It’s obvious why that’s true between Princeton and Radcliffe, but I throw Wisco in there because of the speed they find every year around this time. While they don’t often win Sprints, they are defending this year and would love to make it two in a row. Radcliffe came off the water in Princeton disappointed with their race and feeling they can do much better. They’ll be out to prove it here. Georgetown remembers how close they were to Princeton at their dual, and are licking their chops at the thought of another shot at the Tigers. If they pass Radcliffe or Wisconsin along the way, so be it. All the while Princeton is getting less respect than any other top ranked boat. They dethroned Radcliffe but didn’t get all the poll votes for number one, cMax has them at number three, Georgetown thinks they can beat them, Radcliffe thinks they had their worst race ever and finished only 3 seconds back, and Wisconsin thinks they lose to them early and then beat them late every year. What’s a girl gotta do? Win two more races, that’s all. Princeton really comes into this race as an underdog and should be raring to go out and prove the doubters wrong.

There’s no toll going into New Jersey, only getting out. I’ll be crossing early to beat the traffic.