SPOILS OF VICTORY: Members of the Princeton University women’s open varsity 8 show off the medals and trophies they earned after winning the grand final at the Ivy League championship regatta on Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J. last Sunday. It was the second straight Ivy crown for the top open boat and the third in the last four years. Princeton is next in action when it competes at the NCAA championship regatta from May 26-28 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor. (Photo Courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Athletic Communications)

Even though the Princeton University women’s open varsity 8 went 11-0 in regular season competition, Lori Dauphiny knew nothing was guaranteed as her top boat competed in the Ivy League championship regatta last weekend.

“I am always nervous to even talk about an undefeated season,” said Princeton head coach Dauphiny.

“We talked about what we gained from each race as we went though the season.”

With 15 days between a win over Penn, Syracuse, and Iowa on April 29 in the regular season finale and the Ivy regatta last Sunday on Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J., Princeton had the chance to fine-tune things.

“I felt that during those two weeks we were building more speed and we had a couple of hiccups and we would have a practice where things were off,” said Dauphiny.

“The cool thing was that they were able to respond to that and recognize that you can’t take anything for granted and we can make these changes. They would come back to the next practice and they would have made that adjustment.”

The Tiger varsity 8 adjusted well, riding a brilliant start to a win in its final, clocking a time of 6:07.38 over the 2,000-meter course with Brown taking second in 6:11.39 and Yale finishing third in 6:14.53.

In so doing, seventh-ranked Princeton qualified for the upcoming NCAA championship regatta, taking place from May 26-28 at nearby Mercer Lake in West Windsor.

“They came to the starting blocks knowing that it was fast conditions and they were going to have to be fast right from the beginning of the race and any margin was important,” said Dauphiny, reflecting on the Ivy triumph.

“I think they executed the race extremely well. It was one of the first races where I saw them put it together.”

In assessing her top boat’s undefeated run, Dauphiny believes it is due to character as much as talent.

“I think resilience is big,” said Dauphiny. “Many of our races were away which is a good experience for us. It is dealing with some adversity, being resilient, and learning from each experience.”

Having some experienced rowers on the boat has made a big difference.

“There has been very good senior leadership as well, within our the boat and outside of the boat, just on the team in general,” said Dauphiny, whose varsity 8 is led by senior captains Georgie Howe and Catherine Babiec.

“It is so important that the seniors are peppered through the program and represent it in all boats and they have really done a nice job of teaching the underlings what it takes.

Battle-tested coxswain Amanda Rutherford has done a nice job of piloting the crew.

“Amanda is a senior as well so she brings a lot of experience and expertise into the boat,” said Dauphiny.

“She is really the only person who can speak up and set the tone. She has been doing that on a daily basis; she is is very important to the boat in that regard.”

The Tiger second varsity 8, which will be competing in the NCAA regatta along with the varsity 4, finished a strong second to Brown at the Ivy regatta.

“It was a good race for the second varsity, they were tenacious, they fought hard,” said Dauphiny, whose boat covered the course in 6:20.575 with the Bears clocking a winning time of 6:17.692.

“It was anybody’s race early on; the top boats were within one second of each other at the 500 meter mark. I felt like they never backed down. They pushed really hard and it paid off.

The varsity 4, for its part, took third, coming in at 7:08.50 with Yale finishing first in 7:05.27 and Brown taking second at 7:06.64.

“I think it is hard to medal at a championship and some people lose sight of that,” said Dauphiny.

“I think they were slightly disappointed because they thought they could have put together a better race.”

Dauphiny likes the way things have come together this spring for the Tigers from top to bottom.

“I am proud of the coaching staff and the team; I am really proud of the program,” said Dauphiny.

“I love that the fastest varsity 8s are at the national championship. I think that is really important but at the same time you don’t get the fastest 8 without people pushing each other throughout the boats. It is fun to watch the progression and see the team evolve this year.”

While Dauphiny is hoping that her rowers keep progressing, she wants them to savor what they have already accomplished.

“That undefeated season is something they should be extremely proud of,” said Dauphiny.

“It cannot be taken away. It is really cool. Now we go for the next level.”

The next and biggest test of the season for Princeton will come at the NCAA competition.

“I don’t think we are there yet, I think we will work hard to be there,” said Dauphiny, noting that perennial powers Washington and California are looking formidable this spring.

“When you look at the margins and people who came west to east and east to west, I would say right now we are behind the top contenders in the west but it is still possible. We are aware that our competition that we have not seen yet will be tough, as you would expect at a national championship.”

The Tigers are hoping to get a boost from the cheers of the home fans who come out to Mercer Lake.

“It is nice to have the competition coming here to New Jersey,” said Dauphiny. “It is nice that we have fans nearby and support from here on campus.”