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Princeton Heavyweight Crew Back on Track, Aims to Continue Revival at IRA Competition
By Bill Alden
For the Princeton University top men's heavyweight crew, 2003 was a lost season as a tough spring culminated in the boat not even qualifying for the grand final at the Eastern Sprints.
For the Tigers' No. 1 freshman heavyweight crew, however, 2003 was a year to savor as the boat cruised to an undefeated season, winning the Easterns, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) title, and even the Temple Cup at the prestigious Henley Regatta in England.
In an effort to get the top varsity boat on the right track, its seniors didn't wait long to join forces with the performers from that storied freshmen crew.
"When we arrived on campus in the fall we sat down and met up together," said senior captain Tyson White, recalling a meeting with the now-sophomore rowers.
"We committed to not only turning things around but winning a championship. Everyone knew what was at stake. We have a pretty good tradition of excellence here and we weren't about to let that slide."
The top boat has restored its standing in fine style as it has posted victories over Rutgers, Penn, Yale, Brown, Columbia, and Cornell, taking the Childs Cup and the Carnegie Cup in the process. The crew made it back to the finals of the Easterns Sprints, where it finished second to powerful Harvard.
This weekend, the top heavyweight boat will look to add another chapter to its story of revival as it competes at the IRA championships at Camden.
For Princeton heavyweight crew coach Curtis Jordan, the boat's success has not come as a big surprise. "I think last year was an aberration," said Jordan. "It wasn't like we had a lack of good athletes. It's just what happens in athletics; a team gets a little out of sorts and under-performs. I think we've had a really successful season and I don't think that's unexpected."
Jordan had a feeling that blending the sophomore talent with the hunger of the seniors would result in a potent mix.
"The influx of the sophomore group enriched the group to a certain level and brought the standard up for everybody," said Jordan, who is in his 12th year at the helm of the Princeton heavyweight program.
"But I also think we have great leadership from our 10 seniors. Even though some of those seniors don't get on the top boat, they are leaders because of how hard they work. What they are doing, motivates the whole team."
The veteran coach, though, acknowledges that his group of sophomores possess special qualities.
"It's a talented group of guys," explained Jordan, whose sophomore performers include James Egan, Sam Loch, Steve Coppola, Mike Gottlieb, and Princeton native Alex Hearne.
"They have a lot of capacity; they have a lot of racing experience because of what they did last year. They also have a lot of experience in being confident; I think that experience of being in major races pays off."
In White's view, the sophomores' swagger has helped the boat's collective confidence grow through the spring.
"Every race we get a little more experience, a little bit faster," said White, a native of Oakville, Ontario who rows in the second seat on the top boat.
"You could see it building in training and in the mentality of the crew. If we have a bad practice now, it's OK, we know we have a fast boat and we come back in the next practice and rebound."
The Tigers will need to draw on that confidence in the IRAs as they look to knock off nemesis Harvard, who won the Easterns and has been a longtime thorn in the side of Princeton.
"This is going to be a regatta where, if we're on and race to our capacity, we'll be in the top three, challenging for first place," said Jordan.
"If we're a little bit off, we'll be behind the eight-ball in the qualifying process and the heats. We can't afford to do that. We're not that good that we can go out there and make mistakes in the qualifying process."
White, for his part, believes the boat hasn't yet peaked. "Our best race is ahead of us," declared White.
"We expect to win, it's been the same all year. Harvard is a great boat, no question. It's just going to take that extra effort, that extra bit of commitment. We have to believe that we can do it."
With how far the boat has already come this spring, the rowers should bring plenty of self-belief to the water this weekend.
