Cornell men’s lightweight rowing team recorded its second win in as many weeks at the Princeton Chase this past Saturday, taking home gold in the Lightweight Eights event.
The Red fielded six boats, with three competing in the Eights event, two in the Fours event, and one in the freshman Eights event.
In a field of 22, all three boats competing in the Eights event finished among the top ten, with times of 13:10.182, 13:37.728 and 13:42.926, respectively. The two boats racing in the fours event finished third (14:50.274) and fifth (14:57.182), while the freshmen placed in a strong second (14:01.940).
“We are definitely pleased by the outcomes,” said head coach Chris Kerber. “We have a great rivalry with Princeton and racing there is never easy …. the Tigers know every nook and cranny in their home race course.
Fresh off last week’s winning effort, the Red was able to build on its momentum, managing to row even harder and more efficiently at the Lake Carnegie meet.
“We’ve had success in the last number of years at the Chase but nothing like this. It was a great Sunday for family and alumni who came out to support us especially after the bad weather on Saturday,” Kerber said.
Flat water, a light head breeze, and an absence of leaves of the lake’s surface further allowed the Red to flourish, able to show off its full strength unimpeded by natural elements.
“The flatter conditions allowed us to race a lot harder this week,” said senior coxswain Molly Rochford.
“We went out there and committed to generating that enthusiasm for racing. Like what we did on the Charles last Sunday, but even better,” added sophomore Luke Small. “This approach and our training set us up for the win.”
With an incredibly successful preseason campaign soon coming to a close, Kerber outlined the team’s goals for the upcoming Autumn Classic, a regatta being held this weekend at Cornell, and a pivotal winter training period thereafter.
“Heading into the Cornell Autumn Classic, we want to keep building momentum and race the regional crews [Syracuse, Hobart, Mercyhurst and Ithaca College] with a very dynamic race,” Kerber said. “The transfer of this push into winter training is essential in order to have a successful spring season.”
The coach also emphasized the grueling nature of the upcoming months, explaining that standards of the training period are incredibly high — and not for the faint of heart.
“This time is where individual conditioning and achievement on the rowing machines become our major focus,” Kerber said. “Building capacity in the winter months is no doubt a grind, somehow the nature of the rower embraces this aspect of our sport.”