No. 4 Rowing tops No. 7 Princeton, No. 9 Yale in three races

Saturday, April 20

Princeton, NJ

7:45 AM

University of Texas

Princeton, Yale

No. 4 Rowing tops No. 7 Princeton, No. 9 Yale in three races

04.20.2019 | Rowing

The Longhorns prevail over Ivy League crews with three wins.

PRINCETON, N.J. -- On Saturday morning, the No. 4 University of Texas rowing team closed competition at the Eisenberg Cup with three boats claiming first place.

"The racing as a whole pretty good as we won three of the four races," head coach Dave O'Neill said. "Unfortunately, it's all overshadowed by the result in the first eight. We have good team, and today showed some areas where we can get better."

In the Longhorns' first race of the day, the varsity eight (1V8+) raced to a photo-finish against No. 9 Yale. However, the Bulldogs narrowly edged Texas by just a fifth of a second at 6:08.8 and 6:09.0, respectively. No. 7 Princeton took first and the Eisenberg Cup, with a time of 6:06.0.

"The tailwind and rough water presented an added challenge, but it was nothing that our first eight couldn't handle," O'Neill stated. "Basically, the tailwind rewards the crew that rows the better rhythm and stays relaxed, and both Princeton and Yale proved that this morning. The effort was there but not the speed. We'll take the loss and get better from here."

The second varsity eight got off the line in strong fashion, but it was their base speed that made the difference. Yale led for the first 1,000 meters, but the boat stayed relaxed and composed. The 2V8+ cruised to the line first, winning its race at 6:15.5, finishing ahead of Yale by five seconds and Princeton by eight.

With the second eight's lineup varying greatly since the San Diego Crew Classic's lineup, Coach O'Neill was pleased, offering, "Today's race was certainly a step in the right direction as they did pretty much everything right."

Next up, the first varsity four held its own against the Ivies, racing to come back from a length of open water to a strong Yale boat. They started chipping away in the third 500 meters and closed the gap to a length with 500 meters to go, finishing at 7:04.3, ahead of Yale by 1.3 seconds and Princeton by 9.4.

"The final push to get the bow ahead was terrific, and I was impressed with their composure and toughness throughout," said O'Neill.

In the final race of the day, the second varsity four's run down the course was nearly identical to the second eight -- the boat trailed Yale for a majority of the race but was then able to move through around the 1,000-meter mark. The crew was able to get open water at one point, but Yale pushed on and closed the gap a few times. The 2V4+ prevailed at 7:10.3, with margins of 2.7 (Yale) and 26.2 (Princeton) seconds, ending the day with three first-place finishes. Today's race marks the first time this season that the crew had raced.

Up next, the Longhorns will host the Longhorn Invite at Walter E. Long Park on April 27th, with seven crews from around the country coming to Austin for the event.

Lineups:

1V8+: (C) Ashley Jacobs, (S) Ljiljana Josic, (7) Kaitlin Knifton, (6) Fanny Bon, (5) Milica Slijepcevic, (4) Aspa Christodoulidis, (3) Alexandra Watson, (2) Francesca Raggi, (B) Maria Valencia