OPENING IT UP: The Princeton University women’s open varsity 8 churns through the water in a regatta earlier this season. Last Sunday, the top boat took third in the grand final at the Ivy League championship regatta. Princeton finished third in the Ivy team points competition, trailing champion Brown and runner-up Yale. The Tigers hope to continue their season at the NCAA Championships from May 29-31 at Sacramento, Calif. as an at-large selection to the competition. Princeton is one of three programs (Brown and Washington) which has competed at every NCAA Championships since the inaugural regatta in 1997. (Photo Courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

Lori Dauphiny knew that her Princeton University women’s open varsity 8 crew was in for a dogfight at the Ivy League championship regatta last weekend at Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J.

The ninth-ranked Tigers were in the title mix with undefeated and fifth-ranked Brown, 10th-ranked Yale, and No. 15 Harvard-Radcliffe.

“Brown was the favorite but we knew Yale would be tough as well as Harvard,” said Princeton head coach Dauphiny.

“There was one second between us and Yale in the regular season and only  two seconds between us and Harvard.”

In the grand final at the Ivy regatta last Sunday, the boats were again separated by a few seconds. Princeton went after Brown from the start but couldn’t catch the Bears, who won the race with a time of 6:15.421. Spent by that effort, the Tigers were passed by runner-up Yale, who came in at 6:18.900 with Princeton next in 6:19.703.

“We didn’t discount anybody,” said Dauphiny. “We wanted to go with Brown, we were in the lane next to them. We knew we had closed the gap somewhat. We went for it to see what we could do. We fought hard and paid a price for it later. Brown had pushed into first at 1,000 but they were not out of reach, they are a great crew. Yale had a strong third 500.”

Princeton ended up finishing a strong third in the team points standings at the regatta as Brown won the title with 87 points with Yale second at 72 and the Tigers just behind with 69.

With Princeton earning five top-three finishes at the competition, Dauphiny was haunted by a fourth place finish from the second varsity 8.

“That was a heartbreaker,” said Dauphiny. “I can’t tell you what happened. They said they put it all out there; they had a better race than in the heat. They had a rough start in the heat; it was messy and they got rattled. We talked about their weaknesses and how we could overcome them and they did but it wasn’t enough.”

On the flip side, the Tigers overcame some adversity and inexperience in fours as the first varsity 4 placed third and the varsity 4 C won its race.

“It was good for the varsity 4, they had some injuries and they handled it well,” said Dauphiny. “They had a rockier approach to the finals. The 4C was great, they hadn’t practiced together and they rose to the occasion.”

While Princeton fell short of the team title, Dauphiny liked the way her rowers rose to the occasion collectively last Sunday.

“I was happy, there was some disappointment,” said Dauphiny. “The good part was that almost everyone won a medal. We came in third and we would have liked better but everyone stepped up. Overall, it was a decent showing for us.”

Dauphiny credited her 10 senior rowers with showing the way. “The senior class had a lot to do with that,” said Dauphiny. “They were peppered throughout the program. They stepped up in their boats. There was a lot of senior impact, they made a difference.”

Those seniors will be looking to continue their careers at the NCAA Championships from May 29-31 at Sacramento, Calif. as the Tigers hope to be an at-large selection to the competition. Princeton is one of three programs (Brown and Washington) which has competed at every NCAA Championships since the inaugural regatta in 1997.

“We focus on getting another opportunity and a chance,” said Dauphiny.

“They are still in finals so it is important to balance the academic commitments with rowing. It is an exciting opportunity that not everyone gets. We will make sure that we value the additional chance to race.”