HEAVY DUTY: The Princeton University men’s heavyweight varsity eight displays its form in a race earlier this spring. The varsity eight, which defeated Brown in its final regatta to earn the Content Cup, will be competing in the ECAC Eastern Sprints on May 17 in Worcester, Mass. (Photo by Row2K/Ed Hewitt, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)
By Bill Alden
Fueled by a determined core of seniors, the Princeton University men’s heavyweight crew has produced a memorable spring.
“It has been a solid year for the team, we have got a really good group of seniors,” said Princeton head coach Greg Hughes. “It is a big group for us, it is 15. In addition to having some good recruits and experienced athletes in there, there is a good group of walk-ons. They have done a very good job of setting the tone this year. It is a special group and they have done a great job.”
That group has set an upbeat tone as they have gone about their work.
“They have set a very high standard, they hold themselves to that standard but they have also made it a lot of fun,” said Hughes. “The energy and the attitude that that group brings from top to bottom. It is really special. It is not about individual boats, it really is about our team. Everybody is stepping up and playing a part. It has been a fun ride for me.”
The fun started for Princeton in the first two weekends of the spring campaign as the top boat topped Georgetown, Temple, and LaSalle on March 28 and they defeated Navy a week later to earn the Navy-Princeton Cup. Hughes was encouraged by the all-around effort in the win over the Midshipmen on April 4.
“That was great, it was a solid performance across all boats down there,” said Hughes. “That is always exciting to see when we are able to perform well in the 3V, the 4V, and 5V. That was really positive.”
At the Princeton Invite on April 11, the varsity eight had a mixed result in a big day of racing, topping Penn, Columbia and Stanford in morning racing to win the Childs Cup before falling to Cal in an afternoon showdown.
“For our group there having a positive result for the varsity and having Stanford in there as well was exciting for the team,” said Hughes.
“They joined in as a guest in the Childs Cup in that morning race. It was the first time we have raced those guys in a regular season race in my time and they are strong this year.”
Although the top boat got edged by No. 2 Cal later in the day, Hughes saw the race as a valuable experience for the No. 4 Tigers.
“That was great exposure for us we came up short in the varsity and the 3V and we won the 2V,” said Hughes, whose varsity eight clocked a time of 5:55.54 over the 2,000-meter course to get edged by Cal which came in at 5:53.05. “They were also close races. Those were great opportunities for us to get a good feel for things we can go work on that we would not have normally gotten. We would have been at brunch. That gave us a chance to really understand where we are strong against a top opponent in the country and what we need to work on. That was a really good race to have before we went up to Boston.”
A week later, the Tigers stepped up in a big way as the top boat defeated No. 3 Harvard on the Charles River, posting a time of 5:29.99 to top the Crimson who finished in 5:31.29.
“It was a solid win up there the conditions were pretty dicey,” said Hughes. “It was a very rough tail wind and I thought our guys executed well in that condition and rose to the challenge. It was very spicy. I definitely credit the Invite racing for preparing us for how we raced there.”
Building on the momentum it gained from the win over Harvard, Princeton defeated Yale and Cornell on April 25 to earn the Carnegie Cup.
“That was a good race too, it was good to be back home,” said Hughes. “It was a positive result for the varsity, it was the third year in a row that we have been able to win that one after not winning it for a long time. It was exciting for the team. It was the first time we had won all of the races at the Carnegie Cup since 2006. That was a positive step for the team.”
Hosting Brown in its final regular season regatta on May 2 as the program honored is senior class, the Tigers enjoyed another positive day as the top boat defeated the Bears in the race for the Content Cup.
“We always really love the Brown race, they are always a formidable team at all levels,” said Hughes. “They always race with a ton of passion. It is exciting racing. You know something crazy is going to happen but you don’t know where they are going to do it. They are fun to race. For all of the boats to come away with wins that is something we haven’t done in a while. It speaks again to the role that the senior class has played in building our team.”
Two of those seniors, Theo Bell and Marcus Chute, have played a huge role for the Tigers over the last four years as they have competed in the varsity eight from day one.
“They brought a lot to the boat as freshmen, it is impressive to think they have been in there their entire career with some exciting things,” said Hughes. “They won three Compton Cups, the race with Harvard, that is the first time in the program’s history that one of our athletes has won three in the history of the cup that started in the early 30s. Marcus is the only person in the history of the program that has won four Content Cups. As performers, they have set a new standard here. I think 38-3 is their regular season record over the course of four years. in the varsity eight.”
Bell and Chute, who both hail from England, have distinguished themselves in several respects.
“They also care about the other guys on the team, it isn’t just I am here to perform get out of the way,” said Hughes. “I think that is what is so cool. They are mentors, they are leaders. They have been a really valuable piece of the team. They have gone and performed beyond Princeton as well. Last summer as a pair they were in final at the Henley Regatta in the open division of the pairs.”
Sophomore twins, Matt and Dan Cashman, who are from Brisbane Australia, have emerged as key performers on the top boat.
“They have done a great job of embracing their role as just sophomores,” said Hughes. “They don’t just bring talent, they bring energy.”
Hughes likes the energy he sees throughout the squad. “In the varsity it is a collective thing, it is a good group,” said Hughes. “They are all pulling their weight. As I look down the team what is good is that is happening in every boat. I look at the 2V and there are a couple of seniors in there that have just been amazing role players throughout and that continues right on down the team.”
With Princeton stating postseason action by competing in the ECAC Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., this Sunday, Hughes is looking forward to another good effort from his rowers.
“It is all internal focus, we have to take care of what we can do as best we can,” said Hughes. “It is an exciting year in the heavyweight league. If you look at the racing that has been going on in the league there is a ton of parity. It is going to be exciting racing at all levels.”