Sunday, April 20
Princeton, N.J. (Lake Carnegie)
10:45 a.m.
Columbia
vs
Navy (Maxwell Stevenson Cup - varsity race only)
Heavyweights Repeat History with Second Major Cup Win in Two Days
4/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Heavyweight Rowing
PRINCETON, N.J. ? In what may be the most significant regular-season weekend in Columbia heavyweight rowing history, the varsity heavyweights followed their epic victory in Saturday's Blackwell Cup regatta by defeating Navy Sunday, April 20, to capture the Maxwell Stevenson Cup for the first time in 45 years.
Columbia had not won the Maxwell Stevenson Cup since 1963. Although it was first presented in 1950, it was contested only sporadically until the 1980's, and then not at all from 1992 to 2001. Thus, Columbia's 1963 victory was only the fourth competition for the Cup; its victory Sunday occurred in just the 23rd Cup race.
Sunday's race presented its own set of complications for the two teams. Contested in neutral waters, Princeton's Lake Carnegie, the Stevenson Cup would be the second competition in as many days for both crews.
While Columbia's crew people were able to spend Saturday night on campus after returning from Connecticut, Navy was in its fourth day on the road. The Midshipmen had left Annapolis Thursday en route to Ithaca, where they faced Cornell and Syracuse in the Goes Cup. Then they had traveled down to the Princeton area, and spent Saturday night there.
Columbia's greatest problem was in keeping its focus after the huge win Saturday over Yale and Penn for the Blackwell Cup. Their bodies would be at the Stevenson Cup, but would their minds still be in New Haven?
Head coach Mike Zimmer knew he had to circumvent that possibility, and early.
"I let the Blackwell Cup come back to New York on the bus with the team Saturday," Zimmer said. "I let them celebrate with it on the bus.
"Once we got back to our boathouse, we unloaded the trailer, and then I took the guys aside. I took the Cup away, and told them from then on, thy had to focus on tomorrow (Sunday). Right there, at the boathouse, they had to stop thinking 'Blackwell Cup'."
When Columbia launched onto Lake Carnegie, the coach could tell they were focused. What worried him more, though, was how fatigued they were. Two major cup races in 24 hours is a great deal to ask of a collegiate crew.
Right away, though, the Lions reassured him. Taking advantage of the cool weather ? the temperature had dropped from near 80 in Connecticut Saturday to a damp 56 at Princeton Sunday ? they jumped out to a lead, and expanded it.
Zimmer was impressed. "They were really aggressive for the first 1000 meters," he noted. That's when rowing's equivalent of the marathon runner's "wall" kicked in.
"After the 1000," he said, "they were paying for yesterday. You could see some fatigue. But the guys kept it together.
"Navy had been down open water early in the race. They made a charge just about the 1000-meter mark to pull up bow to stern, their bow to our stern. However, we were able to keep them away."
The Midshipmen had one or two more charges, but Columbia refused to give in.
"Navy never overlapped enough that we became nervous," the coach said. "In spite of the fatigue, our speed was pretty good. We kept basically the same margin, one half to three-quarters of a length, for the last 800 meters.
"We did a good job to bring it home."
And so, after long-time Navy head coach Rick Clothier presented it to Zimmer and his three senior starters, stroke Steve LaPerla, sixth seat Mike Robinson, and coxswain Darcy Brown, the Columbia team brought the Maxwell Stevenson Cup home ? home to its roots (it's named after a 1901 Columbia College graduate), and to a trophy case growing more crowded by the day.
The Lions will try to add to the crowded conditions next Saturday, April 26, when they compete against highly-rated Syracuse and Boston University at the Orangemen's fabled Onondaga Lake course.
The result:
Maxwell Stevenson Cup
Columbia vs. Navy (varsity eights only)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Lake Carnegie, Princeton, N.J.
Varsity Eights
1. Columbia, 6:02.2
2. Navy, 6:05.1
Columbia had not won the Maxwell Stevenson Cup since 1963. Although it was first presented in 1950, it was contested only sporadically until the 1980's, and then not at all from 1992 to 2001. Thus, Columbia's 1963 victory was only the fourth competition for the Cup; its victory Sunday occurred in just the 23rd Cup race.
Sunday's race presented its own set of complications for the two teams. Contested in neutral waters, Princeton's Lake Carnegie, the Stevenson Cup would be the second competition in as many days for both crews.
While Columbia's crew people were able to spend Saturday night on campus after returning from Connecticut, Navy was in its fourth day on the road. The Midshipmen had left Annapolis Thursday en route to Ithaca, where they faced Cornell and Syracuse in the Goes Cup. Then they had traveled down to the Princeton area, and spent Saturday night there.
Columbia's greatest problem was in keeping its focus after the huge win Saturday over Yale and Penn for the Blackwell Cup. Their bodies would be at the Stevenson Cup, but would their minds still be in New Haven?
Head coach Mike Zimmer knew he had to circumvent that possibility, and early.
"I let the Blackwell Cup come back to New York on the bus with the team Saturday," Zimmer said. "I let them celebrate with it on the bus.
"Once we got back to our boathouse, we unloaded the trailer, and then I took the guys aside. I took the Cup away, and told them from then on, thy had to focus on tomorrow (Sunday). Right there, at the boathouse, they had to stop thinking 'Blackwell Cup'."
When Columbia launched onto Lake Carnegie, the coach could tell they were focused. What worried him more, though, was how fatigued they were. Two major cup races in 24 hours is a great deal to ask of a collegiate crew.
Right away, though, the Lions reassured him. Taking advantage of the cool weather ? the temperature had dropped from near 80 in Connecticut Saturday to a damp 56 at Princeton Sunday ? they jumped out to a lead, and expanded it.
Zimmer was impressed. "They were really aggressive for the first 1000 meters," he noted. That's when rowing's equivalent of the marathon runner's "wall" kicked in.
"After the 1000," he said, "they were paying for yesterday. You could see some fatigue. But the guys kept it together.
"Navy had been down open water early in the race. They made a charge just about the 1000-meter mark to pull up bow to stern, their bow to our stern. However, we were able to keep them away."
The Midshipmen had one or two more charges, but Columbia refused to give in.
"Navy never overlapped enough that we became nervous," the coach said. "In spite of the fatigue, our speed was pretty good. We kept basically the same margin, one half to three-quarters of a length, for the last 800 meters.
"We did a good job to bring it home."
And so, after long-time Navy head coach Rick Clothier presented it to Zimmer and his three senior starters, stroke Steve LaPerla, sixth seat Mike Robinson, and coxswain Darcy Brown, the Columbia team brought the Maxwell Stevenson Cup home ? home to its roots (it's named after a 1901 Columbia College graduate), and to a trophy case growing more crowded by the day.
The Lions will try to add to the crowded conditions next Saturday, April 26, when they compete against highly-rated Syracuse and Boston University at the Orangemen's fabled Onondaga Lake course.
The result:
Maxwell Stevenson Cup
Columbia vs. Navy (varsity eights only)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Lake Carnegie, Princeton, N.J.
Varsity Eights
1. Columbia, 6:02.2
2. Navy, 6:05.1
Players Mentioned
COX
/ Heavyweight Rowing
Feature: HWROW | 2019 Season Preview
Thursday, April 04
