5/14/11 – off to the SPRiNTS

Folks …

For some crews it has been two weeks for others, three, to practice, improve and fine tune for the beginning of the championship season. With six across on Lake Quinsigamond and in Cherry Hill, the dynamics are far different from the racing season to date. In some cases the morning qualifying heats can be full out bow to bow for 2,000 meters [remember the Yale HW 1V failing by inches to make the Grand Finals in 2010], while other crew can strategically pace for lane placement saving for the afternoon Grand Finals.

Now the Polls translate to seedings and have significant meaning in setting heats and lanes for preliminary competition.

EARC LW Men:

Yale — 1V [4], 2V [4], 1F [1], 3V [1], 2F [No Entry], 4V/2F[2]
Navy — 1V [5], 2V [5], 1F [7], 3V [3], 2F [1T], 4V [1]
EARC HW Men:
Navy — 1V [8], 2V [4], 1F [5], 3V [6], 2F [1T]
Yale — 1V [9], 2V [9], 1F [12], 3V [3]
EAWRC Women:
Yale — 1V [4], 2V [3], 3V [3], V4+[3]

Folks …

Now the Polls translate to seedings and have significant meaning in setting heats and lanes for preliminary competition.

EARC LW Men:

The big question going into the 2011 Sprints is whether Harvard’s lead over Princeton is going to stick this year? In 2010 Harvard beat the Princeton lights, previously undefeated, with a masterful race at Princeton to take HYP, only to lose to them at Sprints and IRA.
Fast forward to this year, when the Harvard lights beat Princeton with a masterful race on the Charles to win HYP; once again the Crimson head to Worcester ranked first. Either way, the margin isn’t comfortable, with Harvard winning at HYP by only one second.

Behind these two is Dartmouth, who have found good speed under second-year head coach Dan Roock, and have raced well this season, falling only to Harvard, and that by less than a length.

Yale, Navy, Cornell and Georgetown make up the tussle of crews who look likely to challenge for spots in the finals.

Harvard, Princeton and Cornell take the top 3 spots in the 2V rankings headed into Sprints, with Harvard undefeated, albeit narrowly; the Crimson have closed-water wins over Princeton and #4 Navy, while the unknown comparison is with Cornell; Cornell was slated to take part in the Matthews-Leonard Cup racing with Harvard and Penn, but the team did not make the trip for what was described as “team reasons.”

Yale, Navy and Dartmouth make up the other likely finalists in the 2V event.

In the Lightweight Freshman eight, Yale heads to Worcester as the undefeated favorite, although the FL8+ is as tight this season as it has been at any time, with crews racing each other tight across the board. Yale edged #3 Princeton by less than half a second at HYP, while Princeton in turn handed #2 Columbia their only loss, early in the season. (Columbia gets the nod at #2 by virtue of Princeton’s defeat by #4 Cornell and Columbia’s subsequent win over the Big Red. Did we say racing was tight?)

Yale, Cornell and Navy take the top seeds in the 3V, 2F and 4V events; all three events are final-only with the 4V running in the morning and the 3V and 2F events taking place early in the afternoon schedule.

Three crews [1V, 2V and 1F] will accumulate points for the Jope Cup, awarded for team supremacy at the Eastern Sprints, and must finish in the top three of their morning heats to advance to grand finals in the afternoon. Yale LWs are seeded to post 3 boats in these events to the finals along with Navy in the 1V and 2V. The Plebes will look to move to the Grand Final from a #7 seed.

Other silver will also be at stake

1F — Gary Kilpatrick Cup
2V — Cornell Trophy
1V — Joseph Wright Trophy
EARC HWs —

Going into the 2011 EARC Sprints, the heavyweight crews from Harvard are at the top of the polls and the early favorites, but not by much…racing in the east has been fierce and close all season.
The Harvard Varsity is riding an undefeated regular season into Sprints, but the margins have been far from comfortable; the Crimson V8 was less than a length ahead of Brown in the second week of the season, and had to come from behind to defeat a very game Princeton crew by 3 seats.

“We have been very pleased with the progress of our crews this Spring,” said Harvard coach Harry Parker. “They have trained hard and raced very well to date and I think they will be well prepared for the Sprints.”

The dark horse contender coming into Sprints with a full head of steam is Wisconsin, who have beaten every east coast crew they have faced this season (including a manic 4:37 2000 meter piece on the Connecticut River at Dartmouth), and also came within a second of Cal/Berkeley at the Stanford Invitational.

That said, Wisconsin’s wins haven’t been easy either: the Wisconsin/BU dual came down to .3 seconds on the Charles, indicating that no one is fully clear of anyone at the top of the field.

The Princeton Heavies seem to be fully out of a few years of the doldrums, and are ranked third. The Tigers lone loss this year was to Harvard, as mentioned above, and they look to be running for the medals at Worcester.

Although they have not raced each other directly this season, the BU heavies are close behind Princeton in the final seedings, and this should make for a very entertaining #3 vs. #4 match up in Sunday’s heat. BU has raced very well this season and also looks poised to make a run at the medals at Sprints.

BU’s performance has definitely caught the attention of the league. “I have been very impressed with BU’s performance this season,” said Harvard’s Parker, among several EARC coaches to give a nod to BU’s speed.

After the four top-seeded crews, things don’t exactly get much easier in the field. Brown, Syracuse, Cornell, Navy, Yale and Dartmouth round out the top 10, but any of these 10 crews could realistically make the Grand Final.

In the 2V8, the top three seeds mirror the V8, with Harvard (undefeated) Wisconsin and Princeton atop the final poll. The margins from one to three seem a bit larger, with Harvard 10 seconds ahead of Princeton in mid-April, but margins typically tighten up by Sprints. Navy, Brown, BU, Syracuse and Cornell make up the remainder of the crews nominally with a shot at the final.

On down the racing program, it would appear to be Harvard’s regatta to lose; all told, the Crimson are ranked first in four of the five seeded heavyweight events. The Harvard Frosh are undefeated, like their Varsity and 2V, but the Crimson received a scare late-season from Northeastern, hanging on to win by one second. The Freshman Eight is once again tight among the top five crews, with Harvard, Princeton, BU, Northeastern and Navy all within two lengths or so on regular season results.

Then again, regular season results go out the window when you line up six-wide on Quinsigamond in May. As Yale’s Steve Gladstone, in his inaugural year back in the EARC, puts it succinctly: “Regarding the parity in the league and tight racing, I’m not sure that it offers any specific advantages as we move into the championship season. In my opinion emotional energy is not a limitless commodity.”

Based on seedings, Navy HWs have their best squad in recent years. In the Rowe Cup competition [1V, 2V and 1F] the Mids are expected to move to the Grand Finals in 1F and 2V with the 1V hoping to knock off favored Wisco or Bruno in their morning heat. The Bulldogs are hoping for upsets in all three events to get to the afternoon Grand Finals.

In addition to serving as the de facto Ivy League Championships for LWs and HWs, the EARC Sprints set the table for the IRAs. The top nine varsity eight finishers from the EARC Sprints will receive automatic invitations to the IRA Regatta in June that serves as the national championship. There will also be five at-large bids. Selection to the second varsity and freshman eight events is predicated on a team first being selected in the heavyweight varsity eight event.

EAWRC Sprints —

One might forgive Princeton a moment of wariness going into the regatta; their crew was also undefeated and top-ranked going into the regatta in 2010 only to lose an epic Grand Final to Yale. As all coaches know, the regular season can only tell so much .Behind Princeton, Brown is quietly poised to exploit any bobbles by the Princeton crews; Brown’s only loss on the season came early in the season to Princeton, and that margin was less than a length.

Behind Princeton and Brown, Radcliffe, the defending champs from Yale, a surprising Cornell crew and surging Columbia make up the remainder of the “paper finalists” from the penultimate rankings. The racing in the middle of the pack in the EAWRC has been one of the great stories of this regular season: Radcliffe won its first cup race against Yale since 2003, Cornell just edged Radcliffe at their tri-dual with Princeton a week earlier while Columbia in turn nipped Cornell a few weeks later, a true “round robin” in the middle of the field.

Also keep an eye on the Dartmouth and Penn Varsity Eights, as both have raced the top crews closely this year and could be good for a possible surprise.

The preliminary seedings in the lower boats mirror those at the top, with an undefeated Princeton crew atop the 2nd Varsity Eight polls, just ahead of Brown, while Brown gets the nod at the top in the 3rd Varsity Eight and both Varsity Fours, with a big pile of crews in the mix beyond those two teams.

Beyond the Varsity Eight, the racing in the lower boats has tremendous implications for the overall team standings at the regatta, which play into the selections for the 16 team field for the NCAA championships later this month.

“6 boat racing is different than dual racing and there are always surprises. With the field 5-6 crews deep in all three NCAA events really anything could happen on race day,” said Yale’s Will Porter. “Regardless of the final outcome it is exciting to have 5-6 teams that should receive NCAA bids. The EAWRC and the Ivy League are stronger than they have been since the NCAA era began.”

There will be much at stake when the Yale women’s crew heads to the Eastern Sprints on Sunday on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. The varsity eight will be looking to win the Ivy League title for the fifth time in the last seven years, and the Bulldogs will be in search of their third straight Charles Willing Team Trophy for overall supremacy. It is also one more chance for Yale to impress the NCAA selection committee.

“The Eastern Sprints is more competitive this year than ever,” said Yale head coach Will Porter. “There are five teams that are legitimate contenders for the varsity eight title and five programs that are legitimate contenders for NCAA bids. It is anyone’s race at this point. We are just trying to be part of it. Our challenge is to go in and show our speed. Go as fast as we can and see where it takes us.”

Based on seedings, all Yale boats are expected to advance to all four Grand Finals. Navy on the other hand after doing well in the ECAC/NE and Patriot League Championships is now moving up to the majors. The Mids, based on seedings, will be hard pressed to reach the Petite finals.

Racing at Worcester will begin at 0820 with heats and lower boat finals and 1310 with Finals. On the Cooper River, the EAWRC will start at 0800 with qualifying heats and 1300 for afternoon finals.

The ECAC, in conjunction with Princeton University Men’s Rowing, will provide live audio and video coverage throughout the regatta.

Live audio coverage for EARC and EAWRC [heats and finals] can be found at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ecac.portal#

Live video coverage can be found at http://crew.princeton.edu/content/live_video

Other Racing on Sunday —

While the breadth of HW racing will be in Worcester, the top two HW 1st Varsities [Washington and Cal-Berkeley] will face off on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, CA.

Sunday’s Pac-10 Championships feature is looking to be one of the most competitive ever, with the men’s Varsity eight race featuring the top two ranked teams in the country. On the women’s side of things every race should be a barn-burner with NCAA selection on the line.

The weather forecast for the regatta is atypically cool with a 60% chance of rain. Recent years have seen triple digit temps for the racing, but how the wind blows this year with the change in weather may swing the championship.

MEN’S VARSITY EIGHT

The regatta will feature round two of California vs. Washington. The two rivals sit atop the current USRowing Collegiate Poll with Washington holding the #1 by virtue of their 3-second win over the Bears in their dual three weeks ago.

An interesting subplot to the varsity eight race is the race for the third; the last automatic qualifying spot for IRAs. Stanford has shown the speed so far this spring, but has yet to race with an IRA eligible crew; racing with Freshmen Austin Hack in their top boat every race so far. If Hack remains in the Varsity eight this weekend and Stanford finishes in third, Stanford will not receive the third IRA bid, and that bid will become an at large selection.

WOMEN’S VARSITY EIGHT

The final event on the program, the women’s varsity eight race is shaping up to be the race of the day. USC arrives as the favorite and is unbeaten this spring, defeating both Cal and Stanford in San Diego, as well as rowing to dual wins over Virginia, Michigan State, Clemson, and UCLA. Cal and Stanford have split their two meetings so far this spring and both are looking to go after USC for the conference crown.

“I wanted to make the race schedule tougher this year, and it certainly has been,” said Cal coach Dave O’Neill. “We’ve race all but one of the top seven programs so far. We took some lumps along the way, but we’re better for it.”

Six of the seven women’s teams are currently ranked in the latest USRowing poll (Cal tied for #1, Stanford #3, USC #4, Washington #7, Washington State #14, UCLA #17), so all the races should be hotly contested. The race for spots four through six will be critical for NCAA selection.

Go below to see full articles from Navy and Yale Sports as well as reporting and polls from Row2k. In addition to the live audio and video feeds, you can find full coverage of EARC, EAWRC and Pac-10 Championships at www.row2k.com. Attached to this e-mail are PDF files [suitable for printing] that show heats and finals for both EARC and EAWRC regattas.

Exciting racing all around!

GO BLUE … Be One With The Boat!

Cheers!

Best Regards,

Coach and TB406 [and Layla Gaga].

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

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From Row2k:

EARC Lights: A Changing of the Guard?

The big question going into the 2011 Sprints is, is Harvard’s lead over Princeton going to stick this year? If you recall, in 2010 Harvard beat the Princeton lights, previously undefeated, with a masterful race at Princeton to take HYP, only to lose to them at Sprints and IRA.
Fast forward to this year, when the Harvard lights beat Princeton with a masterful race on the Charles to win HYP; once again the Crimson head to Worcester ranked first. Either way, the margin isn’t comfortable, with Harvard winning at HYP by only one second.

Behind these two is Dartmouth, who have found good speed under second-year head coach Dan Roock, and have raced well this season, falling only to Harvard, and that by less than a length. “Our Preparation has gone well, thanks to an excellent spring trip,” said Roock. “The intensity of the season gives rowers a taste of what’s to come at Sprints, but there isn’t much anyone can do to fully prepare for the six across, fight to the finish excitement of the finals.”

Yale, Navy, Cornell and Georgetown make up the tussle of crews who look likely to challenge for spots in the finals. “The guys put in a lot of work over the winter and continued to push themselves for top spots in the program,” said Cornell’s Chris Kerber. “Spring practice and racing conditions no doubt added challenges across the league.”

Harvard, Princeton and Cornell take the top 3 spots in the JV rankings headed into Sprints, with Harvard undefeated, albeit narrowly; the Crimson have closed-water wins over Princeton and #4 Navy, while the unknown comparison is with Cornell; Cornell was slated to take part in the Matthews-Leonard Cup racing with Harvard and Penn, but the team did not make the trip for what was described as “team reasons.”

Yale, Navy and Dartmouth make up the other likely finalists in the JV event.

Also in the mix in the Frosh eight is an ever-improving Harvard crew, which seems to have found solid speed late in the season.

From Row2k:

EARC Heavies: Chasing Harvard

That said, Wisconsin’s wins haven’t been easy either: the Wisconsin/BU dual came down to .3 seconds on the Charles, indicating that no one is fully clear of anyone at the top of the field.

“We’ve had some close races this spring and there’s no question that it has helped our crews improve how they execute under pressure,” said Princeton head coach Greg Hughes. “I’m sure it is the same for the other schools around the league. Experience like that is extremely valuable and I hope that we can put that experience to use at the Sprints.”

“The Sprints heats and finals are raced over 2000 meters, but more often than not they’re decided over the course of a much shorter amount of time,” said Dartmouth’s Topher Bourdeau. “You need to be in it to have a chance, but the way crews execute the critical moment–whether it’s a start, move, or sprint–is usually the differentiating factor between those who go home happy and those who just go home.”

In the JV8, the top three seeds mirror the V8, with Harvard (undefeated) Wisconsin and Princeton atop the final poll. The margins from one to three seem a bit larger, with Harvard 10 seconds ahead of Princeton in mid-April, but margins typically tighten up by Sprints. Navy, Brown, BU, Syracuse and Cornell make up the remainder of the crews nominally with a shot at the final.

“I think the intense regular season racing just gives you a sense of purpose,” said Syracuse head coach Dave Reischmann. “Every time you go to the line you have to be prepared to go bow ball to bow ball for 2000m. That creates an awareness at practice that you have to make every stroke count because that is how the racing is going to be on the weekend.”

On down the racing program, it would appear to be Harvard’s regatta to lose; all told, the Crimson are ranked first in four of the five seeded heavyweight events. The Harvard Frosh are undefeated, like their Varsity and JV, but the Crimson received a scare late-season from Northeastern, hanging on to win by one second. The Freshman Eight is once again tight among the top five crews, with Harvard, Princeton, BU, Northeastern and Navy all within two lengths or so on regular season results.

Then again, regular season result go out the window when you line up six-wide on Quinsigamond in May. As Yale’s Steve Gladstone, in his inaugural year back in the EARC, puts it succinctly: “Regarding the parity in the league and tight racing, I’m not sure that it offers any specific advantages as we move into the championship section. In my opinion emotional energy is not a limitless commodity.”

From Yale Sports:

No. 4 Yale Prepared for Sunday’s EARC Sprints

NEW HAVEN, CT. – The Yale lightweights will travel to Worcester, Mass., this weekend for the Eastern Sprints regatta to compete for the EARC and Ivy League titles. Sunday’s racing will feature 10 of the top-12 ranked lightweight crews in the nation, with only the top seven finishers qualifying for the IRA National Championship on June 4.
Sprints marks Yale’s first competition in two weeks, and captain Andrew Hakanson ’11 expressed confidence in the entire team’s preparedness for Sunday’s regatta.

“The past two weeks of practice have been productive, and we look forward to some very competitive racing for all boats,” said Hakanson. “We train year-round with the goal of winning Eastern Sprints in our minds. It is sort of surreal when the race finally comes around, and I am excited to see what our team will be able to accomplish.”

Yale’s first crew to race on Sunday will be the fourth varsity/second freshman combination eight, which will square off against Princeton and Navy in a finals-only race at 8:50 a.m. Yale is seeded second, behind Navy.

The third varsity eight will also race in a finals-only format at 1:40 p.m. The top-seeded Yale 3V enters the race undefeated and will be positioned in Lane 0 for the seven-boat final.

Yale’s other three crews will accumulate points for the Jope Cup, awarded for team supremacy at the Eastern Sprints, and must finish in the top three of their morning heats to advance to grand finals in the afternoon.

The first freshman eight finished the season undefeated with a one-foot comeback victory over Princeton two weeks ago. As a result, the Bulldogs are seeded first, and will face Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth and Georgetown in their heat at 9:12 a.m.

One hour later, at 10:12 a.m., Yale’s second varsity, seeded fourth, will race top-ranked Harvard, as well as Navy, Columbia and Georgetown for a spot in the grand final.

Harvard also holds the top seed in the varsity eight and will race alongside No. 4 Yale in the event’s first heat at 11:48 a.m. Joining the two longtime rivals will be Navy, Penn, and Columbia.

Race Schedule

8:50 a.m. 4V/2F Grand Final

9:12 a.m. 1F Heat #1 (Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth, Georgetown)

10:12 a.m. 2V Heat #1 (Harvard, Yale, Navy, Columbia, Georgetown)

11:48 a.m. 1V Heat #1 (Harvard, Yale, Navy, Penn, Columbia)

1:40 p.m. 3V Grand Final (Yale, Cornell, Navy, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn)

2:25 p.m. 1F Grand Final – The Gary W. Kilpatrick Cup

3:37 p.m. 2V Grand Final – The Cornell Trophy

5:31 p.m. 1V Grand Final – The Joseph Wright Trophy

From Navy Sports:

Lightweight Rowing Ready for Eastern Sprints on Sunday

Mids will be one of 10 teams competing.

Racing will begin just after 8 a.m. on Sunday.

May 13, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, MD. – The Navy lightweight rowing team will travel to Worcester, Mass., this weekend where it will compete in the Eastern Sprints Championship on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. Navy is one of 10 teams in the field that will be aiming for the Eastern Sprints title.

About the Eastern Sprints
Below are Navy’s seedings and scheduled race times for Sunday morning’s heats. Seedings were determined by the most recent EARC poll, which was released on May 10.

Fourth Varsity Eight – No. 1 seed – 8:50 a.m.
Freshman Eight – No. 7 seed – 9:24 a.m.
Second Varsity Eight – No. 5 seed – 10:12 a.m.
Varsity Eight – No. 5 seed – 11:48 a.m.
Second Freshman Eight – No. 1 seed – 1:10 p.m.
Third Varsity Eight – No. 3 seed -1:40 p.m.

Last Year at the Eastern Sprints
The Navy lights posted top-five finishes in all five finals last year on Lake Quinsigamond. Navy’s first varsity, second varsity and first freshman boats all placed fifth in the grand final, while the second freshman boat won its grand final race. The Mids’ third varsity crew finished third.

The Last Time Out
Navy defeated Penn in three of four races on April 30, including the first varsity race as it retained the Callow Cup. The first varsity defeated Penn for the 11th consecutive year, while the second and third varsity crews were also victorious.

From Yale Sports:

Bulldogs Ready for EARC Sprints

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – All the big names in rowing on the East Coast will convene in Worcester, Mass., this Sunday for the 2011 EARC Sprints. Widely held as the de facto Ivy League Championship, the Eastern Sprints regatta is the first of two championships for the Yale heavyweight crew team as the 2010-2011 season reaches its climax. All eight Ivy League schools along with several other Division I programs from New England, the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest regions will field boats in hopes of taking home the heavyweight team point trophy, the Rowe Cup. While EARC and Ivy League titles are up for grabs this weekend, bids for the IRA Regatta at the end of the month are also at large.
Sunday will be the first and only time the Bulldogs will see their long-time rivals, the Harvard Crimson, before racing in the 146th Harvard-Yale regatta in two weeks. Harvard will arrive in Worcester as defending champs in the varsity and freshman eight events. This year the Crimson are also ranked first in the freshman, third, second and first varsity eight events as voted on by EARC coaches. These rankings are reevaluated several times throughout the spring season, the most recent of which is used to assign seeds for each crew and come up with preliminary heats at Sprints.

Yale’s best finish at Sprints last year was in the third varsity eight. There the Bulldogs took fifth in what was the only grand final appearance for the heavyweights. The Yale varsity eight finished fifth in the petite final, putting them in 11th place overall. Current captain Derek Johnson was in seven seat of the varsity last year.

“Last year our varsity had an opportunity to secure a place in the grand final, but we came up short by inches,” said Johnson. “We’ve had to live with that disappointment for the past twelve months and we’re eager to line up on Sunday and prove ourselves. This entire season has been productive and we’re a completely different team from the one that raced last year in Worcester. The last few weeks of training have been extremely competitive and all of our boats are well prepared to execute come race day.”

The first Yale crew to come down the course Sunday will be the third varsity eight (4-0). No. 3 Yale will take on No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 6 Navy and No. 7 Princeton. Yale is in the second heat of two, which is set to go off at 8:40 a.m.

Not an hour later the Yale freshmen (1-3) will vie for a spot in the grand final. The No. 12 Yale freshman eight will race against No. 1 Harvard, No. 6 Brown, No. 7 Cornell, No. 13 George Washington and No. 18 Rutgers. Yale is in the first heat of three, scheduled to begin at 9:36 a.m.

The No. 9 second varsity eight (4-2) will race next. In the third heat of three Yale will race against No. 3 Princeton, No. 4 Navy, No. 10 Penn, No. 15 Holy Cross and No. 16 Rutgers. The Yale 2V will come down the lanes at 11:00 a.m.

The last race of the morning for the Bulldogs is the third heat of three in the varsity eight event. The No. 9 Yale varsity (3-3) will line up next to No. 3 Princeton, No. 4 BU, No. 10 Dartmouth, No. 15 Holy Cross and No. 16 George Washington. This race is scheduled for 11:36 a.m.

In Yale’s first race of the morning, the third varsity eight, the Bulldogs will have to finish in the top three in order to advance to the grand final. For the remaining three events Yale will have to finish in the top two in order to advance to the grand final. Finals will be contested in the same order as the heats, starting with the third varsity around 1:00 p.m. and ending with the varsity eight.

The top nine varsity eight finishers from the EARC Sprints will receive automatic invitations to the IRA Regatta in June that serves as the national championship. There will also be five at-large bids. Selection to the second varsity and freshman eight events is predicated on a team first being selected in the heavyweight varsity eight event.

From Navy Sports:

Heavyweight Rowing Competes for EARC Title on Sunday

Heats will begin at 8:20 a.m. on Sunday.

Navy’s varsity eight is currently ranked eighth.

May 13, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, MD. – The Navy heavyweight rowing team will join 16 other schools at the Eastern Sprints Championship on Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. Racing is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:20 a.m.

About the Eastern Sprints
Below are Navy’s seedings and scheduled race times for Sunday morning’s heats. Seedings were determined by the most recent EARC poll, which was released on May 10.

Third Varsity Eight – No. 6 seed – 8:40 a.m.
Second Freshman Eight – No. 1 seed – 9:00 a.m.
Freshman Eight – No. 5 seed – 9:48 a.m.
Second Varsity Eight – No. 4 seed – 11:00 a.m.
Varsity Eight – No. 8 seed – 11:24 a.m.

Last Year at the Eastern Sprints
Competing on Lake Quinsigamond, the Midshipmen posted four top-10 finishes. Both the varsity eight and first freshman crews placed fourth in the petite final and 10th overall. The second varsity boat took 12th overall and sixth in the petite final, while the second freshman crew placed second in the grand final.

Navy’s varsity eight has placed in the top 10 in eight of the last nine seasons.

The Last Time Out
Navy improved to 6-3 on the year as it defeated both Columbia and George Washington on April 30 in Princeton, N.J. The Mids not only won the first varsity race, but they swept the top spots in the second varsity and both freshman races.

Quoting the Coach Rick Clothier’s take on this weekends EARC Sprints…
“We’re really looking forward to competing. Our crews are going into the races with some the highest seeds we’ve had in the last few years. The guys are done with exams now and are excited to get going.”

From Row2k:

EAWRC 2011: Going after Princeton

Headed into the 2011 EAWRC Sprints, it’s a similar storyline: everyone is chasing Princeton. The Tigers have not lost a race in the Varsity or Second Varsity Eights this season and come into the Sprints ranked first in the EAWRC in both eights, and tied for first in the national polls for the Varsity Eight.
“Every race this season has been against great teams. I believe we have one of the more competitive spring schedules out there which has been helpful,” said Princeton’s head coach Lori Dauphiny. “The field at Sprints is tight and a very competitive group.”

One might forgive Dauphiny a moment of wariness going into the regatta; her crew was also undefeated and top-ranked going into the regatta in 2010 only to lose an epic Grand Final to Yale. As all coaches know, the regular season can only tell so much, but Dauphiny sees her Tigers taking nothing for granted. “Our preparation has gone well. I feel we have learned something new about our team and every boat each week of this racing season. This year’s senior class has provided great leadership. We have a close and excited team!”

Behind Princeton, Brown is quietly poised to exploit any bobbles by the Princeton crews; Brown’s only loss on the season came early in the season to Princeton, and that margin was less than a length.

“I think that we have had a relatively good season so far this year and we are hoping for a strong showing in Camden,” said Brown’s John Murphy. “I am sure that I join all the other coaches when I say that I think the Princeton Varsity Eight has earned the right to be considered a favorite for 2011.”

Also keep an eye on the Dartmouth and Penn Varsity Eights, as both have raced the top crews closely this year and could be good for a possible surprise.

“Racing in the EAWRC has been tighter than usual with many crews close in speed which should lead to some great racing at the sprints,” said Brown’s Murphy. As is usual at this time of the season, lineup shuffles as coaches seek to find more speed in their boats makes the racing in the lower boats by turns unpredictable and exciting.

Beyond the Varsity Eight, the racing in the lower boats has tremendous implications for the overall team standings at the regatta, which play into the selections for the NCAA championships later this month.

In the lightweight racing, the regular season has seen a shakeup atop the rankings, with Princeton supplanting Wisconsin atop the poll first the first time in about half a decade. The Tigers beat the Badgers at the PAC-10 Invitational by a sizeable margin in late March, but it’s been also been shown historically that it’s pretty tough to beat the Badgers in May.

Nonetheless, the Princeton lightweights have shown great speed this spring and will look to cap what has been a great season thus far with a win in Camden. Radcliffe, ranked third, will also look to stay in the medals picture, while Georgetown and MIT are applying the pressure from the field.

From Yale Sports:

No. 9 Bulldogs Ready For Competitive Eastern Sprints

Racing Set For Sunday On Cooper River In New Jersey
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – There will be much at stake when the Yale women’s crew heads to the Eastern Sprints on Sunday on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. The varsity eight will be looking to win the Ivy League title for the fifth time in the last seven years, and the Bulldogs will be in search of their third straight Charles Willing Team Trophy for overall supremacy. It is also one more chance for Yale to impress the NCAA selection committee.

The morning heats begin at 8 a.m., and the day culminates with the varsity eight grand final at 4:45 p.m.

Six members of last year’s Ivy League champion varsity eight graduated, so it will be a relatively young and inexperienced crew looking to defend the title. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs have shown they are still a legitimate title contender, most notably when they gave No. 1 Princeton a scare on Apr. 16.

“We are seeded fourth in the first varsity which I was surprised about,” Porter said. “Cornell beat us and is seeded fifth. They should be seeded higher than us because they proved they are faster than us. We are just trying to get back in the mix.”

Princeton is seeded first followed by Brown and Radcliffe. Yale’s heat, which has Radcliffe in it, is slated for 9 a.m. The top two finishers from the heat advance to the grand final.

Yale’s second varsity eight, third varsity eight and varsity four are all seeded third. The second varsity heat is at 9:30 a.m. The third varsity is the first to compete at 8:20 a.m. and the varsity four goes off at 10:05 a.m.

The 16-team NCAA field will be announced on May 17, and Porter expects the Ivy League to be well represented.

“The Ivy League should get five bids based on our regular season results against out of region teams and other conferences,” Porter said.

From Navy Sports:

Women’s Rowing Competes in the Eastern Sprints on Sunday

Action begins at 8 a.m. on the Cooper River.

The varsity eight will compete at 8:50 a.m. on Sunday.

May 13, 2011

Complete Schedule in PDF

ANNAPOLIS, MD The Navy women’s rowing team will take to the water this Sunday in Cherry Hill, N.J., for the Eastern Sprints Championship. Racing will begin at 8 a.m. on the Cooper River.

About the Eastern Sprints
Below are Navy’s rankings and scheduled race times for Sunday morning’s heats. Seedings were determined by the most recent EAWRC poll, which was released on May 10. The finals on Sunday will begin at 1:15 p.m.

Varsity Eight – No. 14 seed – 8:50 a.m.
Second Varsity Eight – No. 14 seed – 9:20 a.m.
Third Varsity Eight – No. 12 seed – 8:00 a.m.
Varsity Four A – No. 10 seed – 10:05 a.m.

Last Year at the Eastern Sprints
Navy produced four first-place times at last year’s Eastern Sprints as the first, second and third varsity eight boats all took first in the third level final. Navy’s varsity four `A’ boat finished seventh overall and first in the petite final, while the varsity four `B’ crew placed sixth in the grand final.

The Last Time Out
The Mids took first place in three events at the ECAC Mid-Atlantic/New England Regional Championships to win the overall point title and the Directors Cup. Navy won the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four races, competing at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.

Quoting the Coach
Navy head coach Mike Hughes on this weekend’s EAWRC Championship…
“We’re excited to get the chance to measure ourselves against the best teams in the country. We’ll work hard to get into the finals and look forward to competing.”

From Row2k:

USRowing Collegiate Poll
May 11, 2011

The University of Washington continued to top the USRowing men’s varsity eight poll this week, while Harvard University took the top spot in the men’s lightweight eight poll.

Washington earned seven first-place votes to retain the top spot in this week’s men’s varsity eight poll. University of California ranked second, earning the remaining first-place vote. Harvard University, Princeton University and Boston University rounded out the top five.

In the lightweight men’s poll, Harvard again earned the top spot, receiving eight of 10 first-place votes. Princeton ranked second, followed by Dartmouth College. Each earned one first-place vote. Yale University and Cornell University rounded out the top five.

Men’s Varsity Eight
Team (1st-Place Votes) Points Previous Week
1. University of Washington (7) 159 1
2. University of California (1) 153 2
3. Harvard University 139 3
4. Princeton University 128 5
5. Boston University 126 6
6. University of Wisconsin 120 4
7. Syracuse University 108 7
8t. Cornell University 95 9
8t. United States Naval Academy 95 10
10. Brown University 92 8
11. Yale University 79 12
12. Dartmouth University 75 13
13. Stanford University 65 11
14. Columbia University 63 14
15. Georgetown University 49 15
16. University of Pennsylvania 44 16
17. Oregon State University 28 17
18. University of Michigan 17 18
19. Northeastern University 15 20
20. Florida Institute of Technology 14 19
Not Ranked But Receiving Votes: University of California at San Diego 6, Williams College 4, College of the Holy Cross 2, George Washington University 1, Gonzaga University 1 and Temple University 1.

(This week’s men’s varsity eight voters: Topher Bordeau, Michael Callahan, Chris Clark, Rick Clothier, Paul Cooke, Greg Hughes, Greg Myhr, Steve Todd)

Men’s Lightweight Varsity Eight
Team (1st-Place Votes) Points Previous Week
1. Harvard University (8) 179 1
2. Princeton University (1) 171 2
3. Dartmouth College (1) 164 3
4. Yale University 156 4
5. Cornell University 146 5t
6. United States Naval Academy 143 5t
7. Georgetown University 130 7
8. University of Delaware 127 8
9. University of Pennsylvania 120 9
10. Columbia University 114 10
11. Marietta College 101 11
12. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 80 12
13. University of Michigan 78 13
14. University of California 67 15
15. St. Joseph’s University 58 14
Not Ranked But Receiving Votes: Washington State University 27, Purdue University 26, Mercyhurst College 25, Penn State University 13 and Georgia Tech 6.

(This week’s men’s lightweight eight voters: Scott Alwin, Nick Baker, Charley Butt, Andy Card, Marty Crotty, Chris Kerber, Evans Liolin, Will Oliver, Steve Perry, Dan Roock)

From row2k:

EARC LW Men
May 10, 2011

Varsity 8
1 Harvard
2 Princeton
3 Dartmouth
4 Yale
5 Navy
6 Cornell
7 Georgetown
8 Penn
9 Columbia
10 MIT

Second Varsity 8
1 Harvard
2 Princeton
3 Cornell
4 Yale
5 Navy