BRONZE AGE: The Princeton University men’s heavyweight first varsity 8 rows away wearing the bronze medals it earned in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship regatta last Sunday on Mercer Lake. The Tigers placed third in the grand final while the second varsity eight earned a silver in its grand final and the third varsity 8 placed fifth. Princeton finished third in the Ten Eyck Team Trophy standings for heavyweights just behind California, while Washington won the title for the ninth straight season. (Photo by Beverly Schaefer Courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

As Greg Hughes presented his first varsity 8 heavyweight rowers with the bronze medals they earned for taking third in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship grand final Sunday on Mercer Lake, he hugged each athlete one by one.

For Princeton head coach Hughes, that result was just one highlight in a superb weekend that saw the Tigers place third in the Ten Eyck Team Trophy standings for heavyweights at the regatta.

“I am very happy,” said a grinning Hughes, reflecting on his program’s overall performance. “I thought that was an incredible performance from the team. We had our best race in the last race of the year in the 1V and the 2V.”

As for the first varsity 8, it produced a valiant effort, closing with a rush as it nearly overtook California for second place behind winner and team champion Washington.

“We had focused a lot on the first half of that race because we knew that there was as an incredible amount of parity in the race and we knew that we had go and establish ourselves well in the piece in order to have a shot,” said Hughes, whose boat clocked a time of 5:30.942 over the 2,000-meter course with winner Washington coming in at 5:28.015 and Cal second in 5:30.798.

“We knew that we had that last 500; we had seen it in the Brown race, we had seen it at Eastern Sprints. So we were thinking about other stuff, quite honestly, knowing that when the time came, if we had done it right, we could always go and tap into that sprint. I thought they executed it perfectly.”

Princeton senior captain Jamie Hamp was proud of the way the top boat competed to the end.

“It was just go out there and be in the pack at the 1k and do what you need to do to finish the race off strong,” said Hamp.

“We saw Washington and Cal sort of going there from 750 to 1000 meters and our goal was just to go with them and we did that. It was absolutely our best race of the year. We obviously would have liked to catch Cal at the end but we started taking it up moving through the line from 700, 800 meters up. We were in a battle with Cal that whole way; they had a great sprint and we had a great sprint. It was two fast boats going at it, props to them but I thought we had a great race too.”

That race capped a great regatta for the Tigers as they showed their depth and talent.

“We set a little higher goals at the beginning of the season but it was a great finish for all the boats, with 2V getting silver and us getting bronze,” said Hamp.

“It is the highest finish for us in almost a decade in the grand final and the team got third in the team points trophy. I think the team really rose to the occasion. It was a great day for all three boats.”

Hughes, for his part, relished seeing his second varsity eight rise to the occasion as it came within an eyelash of a national title, placing second to Washington by just over a second.

“Honestly that was one of the gutsiest races I have ever watched,” said Hughes, whose boat posted a time of  5:34.667 with the Huskies first in 5:33.643.

“They were going hard right from the start. They did that yesterday and we knew that Washington was strong and had that push in the middle. Yesterday it got us so we talked a lot about that. We weren’t going to let that happen again and they did that very, very well. Obviously Washington was the stronger crew and they were able to find something there in the last 250. That is as much as we had right there, I am very proud of that one.”

While the third varsity 8 didn’t earn a medal as it took fifth in its grand final, it had reason to be proud of its performance.

“I think it has been a really great weekend for those guys,” said Hughes. “Maybe it was not the result they had been hoping for but overall, it was strong racing from those guys. There are three freshmen on the boat so there is a lot to look at for the future, which is exciting.”

With a total of only five seniors in the top three boats, the future looks exciting for the Tigers.

“I think obviously we have work to do,” said Hughes. “It is a positive thing to see. It is a good base for next year and in the incoming class of freshmen, there are some really talented, hard working kids too. I think we are going to be able to add to the depth of the team and that is going to be the goal.”

Hughes tipped his hat to his group of seniors, who will get one last chance to row for Princeton as the Tigers are sending three heavyweight boats to the Royal Henley Regatta in England this summer.

“That is the biggest part of today, that result for those senior guys on the 1V and the 2V,” asserted Hughes.

“That is something that they absolutely deserved. They have worked so hard. To see the attitude and the speed of the entire team, that is really a testament to what those guys created over the past four years so thanks to the seniors. It is an honor to have coached them, we are going to miss them.”

Hamp, for his part, was thankful to see that hard work result in a breakthrough campaign for the Tigers.

“It is nice to go out with a medal, this is something we put our sights on all season,” said Hamp.

“Getting the medal at the IRAs is something we hadn’t done in a decade. Obviously we are a little disappointed that we didn’t win but it is a great way to go out I think we had a tremendous season, the whole team. We had our first Rowe Cup (the heavyweight team points trophy at Eastern Sprints) in over a decade with three boats medaling at sprints. We had two medals here; we were the best team on the east coast really so I think we had a tremendous season. It is going to be great for the guys in the coming years.”

Forecasting continued improvement from the heavyweights in the coming years, Hamp believes he and his classmates are leaving a special legacy.

“All the seniors were great this year and the younger guys are really learning something from it,” said Hamp, a native of North Tonawanda, N.Y. who plans to compete for the U.S. rowing program upon returning from Henley.

“We had seven freshmen win at sprints this year, that is huge. It is a great foundation for them moving forward and I think the seniors were really  instrumental in leading that charge this year, especially in the early months. Everybody got more comfortable as the racing season went on.”