November 15, 2005

Crews Finish Fifth at Princeton Race

Print More

The men’s and women’s crews closed out the season with a strong finish at the Belly of the Carnegie race held in Princeton, N.J. The Red finished fifth out of seven crews in a highly competitive field of rowing powerhouses.

The men’s lightweight crew made a particularly good showing at the race, placing boats first and third. The lightweight men’s crew raced two eight-man boats, boat “A” beat out the 20-boat field with a time of 14:56.18 to finish first.

Closely following boat “A” was Navy, finishing with a time of 14:57.54. Crossing the line in 3rd place was Cornell’s “B” boat, finishing with a time of 15:06.49, about nine seconds behind the Midshipmen.

“We had a really strong race because of all the experienced rowers in the boat. Everyone gave it all they had,” said freshman Richard Policastro, a member of the lightweight men’s crew.

The heavyweight men’s two eight-man boats did not have quite as much success, finishing in 13th and 18th place in a field of 25.

The heavyweight boat “A” crossed the line just after Penn with a time of 15:59.00, while the “B” boat pulled across the line at 16:24.64, just after Colombia.

In the heavyweight men’s race, Harvard beat out the field with a time of 14:55.40, a full 9 1/2 seconds in front of the next finisher, Princeton. The Harvard “B” boat finished right after Princeton, sliding into the third-place spot.

The women’s team also took two eight-man boats to the race. They had two respectable finishes in the middle of the field, in 17th and 18th places in a field of 33 boats.

Cornell women’s “B” boat edged out the “A” boat to finish with a time of 18:17.64, right behind the Princeton boat. About two seconds behind Princeton, the “A” boat came in with a time of 18:19.65. In the women’s race, Radcliffe took home the victory, taking both first and third place. Radcliffe’s “B” boat won with a time of 17:14.52 and Radcliffe’s “A” boat finished with a time of 17:19.97.

With first- and third-place finishes in the heavyweight men’s race and first- and third-place finishes in the women’s race, Harvard/Radcliffe emerged on top. Harvard finished with a composite time of 1:36:58.83, beating out the defending champion and host, Princeton, with a composite time of 1:37:16.20.

“It was a really good end to the season” Policastro said.

The Red will spend the winter training in preparation for the spring season.

Archived article by Catherine Bourque
Sun Staff Writer