Princeton knew they had a target on their back from day one of the 2024 season. They knew as soon as they arrived at Cooper River last weekend, and knew with 500 meters remaining in the Ivy League Championship grand final and a feisty Penn crew making a big final push.
The Tigers may have been hunted, but they were the ones who did the capturing. The top-seeded Princeton open women claimed their seventh straight Ivy championship Sunday morning on Cooper River, an Ivy-best 18th title overall. They won three gold medals during the regatta and took home the Sally P. Shoemaker Trophy as the team points champion, a victory that wasn’t assured until the final race of the day.
And now, Princeton can take its turn as the hunter when it turns its attention on the 2024 NCAA Championships, which will be held May 31st – June 2nd at East Fork/Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio. A full preview of that event (as well as the IRA Championships) will come in next week’s newsletter.
“It’s really exciting,” said Katherine George ’25 after the championship effort. “We’ve been working all year for this moment. At the start of the season, we said that our goal was to win Ivies and that’s what we managed to do. It was a really good showing from the whole team. It’s a very exciting day.”
Princeton jumped on the field early to claim the lead by the 500 mark, and by the 1000-meter mark, Penn was the only crew within four seconds of the front-running Tigers. The reigning Ivy champion had one final push left in the tank to win in 6:30.52, 2.5 seconds ahead of the Quakers, and secure a third gold medal for the Orange & Black.
“This means the world to us as a coaching staff and as a University,” said head coach Lori Dauphiny. “These women have fought and trained throughout the year. It’s so fun to see the success of everyone throughout the program. There were close races throughout and everyone performed at their best level. I couldn’t be prouder of all of them.”
The winning varsity eight crew consisted of Sara Covin ’25 (Cox), Zoe Scheske ’25 (8), Joely Cherniss ’27 (7), Ella Barry ’25 (6), Katherine George ’25 (5), Margot LeRoux ’25 (4), Samantha Smart ’27 (3), Anne du Croo de Jongh ’25 (2), and Katharine Kalap ’25 (1).
Princeton also picked up wins in the V4A (3.9 seconds ahead of Yale) and V4B (10.8 seconds ahead of Yale), while the second varsity eight and the V4C earned bronze. The third varsity eight finished fourth.
Katherine George ’25, Claire Fisher ’24, Cordelia Mahony ’24, and Sara Covin ’25 each earned first-team All-Ivy honors, while Klara Thiele ’24 and Catherine Garrett ’24 earned second-team honors. Dauphiny earned Ivy League Head Coach of the Year honors.
The Princeton heavyweights put together one of the greatest performances in program history at the 2024 Eastern Sprints. While they were one second away from something truly historic, the Tigers established themselves as one of the biggest team threats heading into the upcoming IRA National Championships.
Princeton won its first Rowe Cup team title since 2016 — and its 10th in program history — by winning gold medals in both the 2V and 3V and a silver medal in a thrilling 1V final.
“I am so incredibly proud of the way that our entire team raced today,” said head coach Greg Hughes. “Their performances exemplified guts and passion. At the start of the season, our seniors set winning the Rowe Cup as our team’s goal for the year knowing that earning it would require a top performance from every athlete on our squad. The way that our seniors led us to this moment was impressive and inspiring. The 2V and 3V set the standard today with their wins and the Varsity, while coming up just shy of the win, put up one of the fiercest races I’ve ever watched.”
The 2V had only won Sprints gold twice this century (2015, 2017), but they remained undefeated on the season by topping Harvard by more than 2.5 seconds. The Crimson remained the only boat to finish within three seconds of the 2V all season; Princeton won the 2V race during the Compton Cup regatta by 2.5 seconds.
The 3V had tasted defeat twice during the regular season (Harvard, Yale), but its continued growth throughout the season showed itself in an impressive Sprints grand final. The Tiger defeated Harvard by 2.3 seconds for its first 3V gold since 2016.
The varsity eight grand final was a race for the ages, as both Princeton and Brown locked in an epic duel, with Yale and Harvard pushing to keep pace. The Bears edged their way to gold by less than 0.1 of a second (5:28.639 to 5:28.720), while Yale finished third (5:29.932). Princeton has now won silver medals in back-to-back Sprints for the first time since 2010-2011.
“That was just a really incredible race to get to watch and to have a team be a part of,” said Hughes. “And I don’t think that there was anything in there that I would see as an underperformance. They beat our best piece on the day.”
Princeton will now turn its attention to the IRA National Championships, held May 31st – June 2nd on Mercer Lake.
Kalena Blake has been a standout for the Princeton lightweight women since she first stepped on the campus of Old Nassau. She has helped lead the Tiger 1V to 2022, 2023, and 2024 Eastern Sprints 1V gold medals, and she is already a three-time IRA 1V national champion (2021, 2022, 2023). A two-time IRA All-Academic Team honoree, Kalena is from Bethesda, Md.
What is your favorite Princeton Rowing moment on the water?
Winning IRAs my freshman year in the Varsity Eight was a really special moment. Coming back from the pandemic and with many restrictions still in place, that spring was challenging for many reasons. When we got back to campus, we had to erg outside in the snow because that’s the only place we could be unmasked. We didn’t row in an eight-lineup until April. To be able to give the seniors in that boat a proper send-off and see all of our hard work pay off is something I will remember forever.
What is your favorite Princeton Rowing moment off the water?
There was this special moment at last year’s IRAs where we had just come off the podium and were taking a photo with the lightweight men’s team. Our programs had both won our respective team points trophies for the first time. Meanwhile, the heavyweight varsity eight were collecting their medals after beating Yale. They ran over to where we were taking the photo and we all took a photo together as one boathouse. Recalling that moment brings a smile to my face. Sharing our wins with other teams in the boathouse made that moment extra special. I feel so lucky to be part of an era of Princeton rowing where every team is competing at the absolute highest level. That photo encapsulates how amazing this boathouse is.
What has been your favorite Princeton class and/or professor?
I took a class last semester in the journalism program on foreign reporting, which was taught by a foreign correspondent at the Washington Post. Every assignment in the course required us to do our original reporting and it was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences I’ve had at Princeton.
What has been the most impactful advice you’ve received at Princeton (and who gave it to you)?
Before one of our spring races in my sophomore year one of my former teammates, Daisy Devore, said “Don’t forget to have fun.” That’s a piece of advice I take with me to every race, exam, and experience at Princeton. Princeton student-athletes are goal-oriented people, and I am no exception. At the end of the day, I row because it’s fun to spend two hours every day with my best friends working towards a common goal.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
I worked as an editor at the Daily Princetonian for three years, and to this day, the newsroom is one of my favorite places on campus. Student journalists are a lot like rowers in many ways in the passion they bring to their work. Working in the newsroom to report on the stories happening around campus was a memorable part of my Princeton experience.
What is a fun fact or hidden talent about yourself?
Unfortunately, I don’t have any hidden talents (yet). Something people may not know about me is that I speak Bulgarian!
What is the focus of your thesis?
For my thesis, I interviewed foreign correspondents based in East Africa on the state of international reporting in the region. Hearing their stories and having the opportunity to travel to Nairobi, Kenya, was an incredible experience.
If you could only binge-watch one show/movie for the rest of the year, what would it be?
Although I consider myself to be somewhat of a movie buff, the movie I would choose to binge-watch is not exactly a high-brow film, but the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. I love the soundtrack and adventure, and it’s been one of my favorite films since I was a kid.
What is the one phone app you couldn’t live without?
My teammates can attest that I am a huge fan of the New York Times games app. I try to do the crossword and connections game every morning (even on race day).
What is your proudest moment at Princeton so far?
Without a doubt, winning IRAs in 2023 in the Varsity eight and being part of a team that swept the medals dock is my proudest moment. That boat was one of the fastest lineups I’ve had the chance to race in and it was exciting to be able to win by open water and cheer on the successes of all my teammates.
What are your plans/goals for next year and beyond?
Next year, I will be working in Washington, D.C. doing government consulting.
The Princeton lightweight men earned medals in back-to-back Eastern Sprints for the first time since 2015-2016 last Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond. Both the 1V and 2V earned bronze medals during a day of close racing in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Seeds held in the 1V grand final, as top-seeded Harvard topped second-seeded Penn to win gold. Princeton broke away from Dartmouth and Cornell to win the bronze by 2.8 seconds.
The Tiger 2V needed to climb a spot from the seeding to reach the medal stand, and it did so in an exciting fashion. Penn won the gold, while Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell were locked in a tight race for the final two medal spots. The Crimson held off Princeton by half a second to win the silver, but the Tigers fought off top-seeded Cornell by less than one second to win the bronze.
The lightweights will look to climb even higher on the medal podium when they travel to nearby Mercer Lake to compete in the IRA National Championships on May 31st – June 2nd.
The Princeton Rowing Newsletter is written and produced by Craig Sachson. This newsletter will provide coverage of the Princeton crews throughout the spring season. Photos courtesy of Ed Hewitt, Row2K media, and the Office of Athletic Communications.