1997 Heavyweight Season Review

Last year was the 125th year of heavyweight rowing at Princeton, but the 1997 crew proved that there's room for new things even among the oldest of monuments. The Tigers finished undefeated in head-to-head action, a feat not accomplished since James Garfield was President, and dominated Eastern rowing in a way that Princeton had never done before.

That head-to-head success culminated in an outstanding performance at Eastern Sprints, where the Tigers won the varsity race over Yale by nearly four seconds and took the Rowe Cup for overall points for the third straight year. Princeton also won the inaugural Ivy trophy for the best performance at Sprints among Ivy League teams.

Even a fifth-place finish at the IRA took little away from a dominating season by the varsity. The Tigers were severely challenged once, a narrow win over Yale on the windy Housatonic River, and won their head-to-head races by an average of six seconds.

To finish undefeated, the Tigers had to win the toughest race of the year in the season's final race on Lake Carnegie. Brown came to Princeton as the second-ranked crew in the East, also undefeated, and matched the Tigers stroke for stroke in the first 1700 meters of the race. But Princeton had the sprint at the end, and pulled a boat length clear by the finish to make history.

The most exciting race of that day came in the freshman race, as Mike Teti's frosh group finished in an unusual dead heat with the Penn. That group finished third at Eastern Sprints in its final race for Teti, who was named U.S. National team coach this season.

By going undefeated in head-to-head races for the first time since 1881, the heavyweights set the standard for another outstanding season at the boathouse and clearly proved they were still the best crew this side of the Pacific Northwest.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Princeton won the Rowe Cup honoring the overall points champion at Eastern Sprints for the third-straight year.
  
• The Tiger first varsity won the grand final at Eastern Sprints by four seconds over Yale.
  
• Princeton finished undefeated in head-to-head competition for the first time since 1881.

RESULTS