On Saturday, men’s lightweight rowing won all four of their races against Princeton, claiming both the Platt and Harriet Cups.
During Saturday’s races, the Red took off with vigor, aware of Princeton’s notoriety for tough battles.
“Traveling to Princeton, driving down Nassau Street and on the tree-lined Washington Road, and then arriving at their iconic boathouse on the shore of Lake Carnegie is deceptive and belies a highly skilled and well prepared Princeton Crew eager to race,” wrote Head Coach Christopher Kerber in an email to The Sun. “There are no gimmies in our tightly contested league.”
The Red, however, allowed few chances for the Tigers to advance. During the race for the Platt cup, the Red raced neck and neck with Princeton, eventually securing first place with a time of 5:38.5, a mere three second differential.
In the later races, the time margins were widened, with Cornell winning the second Varsity 8 with a time of 5:44.4, four seconds ahead of Princeton. The third Varsity 8 was won by 10 seconds, and the day was rounded off with the fourth Varsity 8 defeating the Tigers once more with a lead of 22 seconds.
The Red also secured the Harriet Cup, by achieving the most team points throughout the course of the competition. Kerber partially attributes the team’s recent successes to the team dynamics and the efforts put in during the off season.
“Team chemistry, cohesion and culture are paramount,” Kerber wrote in an email to The Sun. “Saturday, we were primed, given all the physical work we put in over spring break and building our chemistry. Our work will continue both in and out of the boat, complementing our grinding training sessions.”
In the remainder of the season, the team plans on attacking each race with an awareness of the challenge and competition present within the Ivy League.
“It would have been too easy to assume that we could ride through the COVID competition break on the back of our 2019 success as National Champions,” Kerber wrote. “Our training environments and ‘modeling the way’ emphasis were interrupted during the height of the pandemic, then rebooted in September and amplified moving forward. We committed to the adage ‘don’t make any assumptions.’”
The team will look to continue their string of success when they travel to Hanover, New Hampshire on Saturday, April 30, where they will face off against Dartmouth for the Baggaley Bowl at 8 a.m.