April 6, 2009
Derby, Conn. - The Georgetown University lightweight men's crew completed a busy day of racing on Saturday as the No. 6 Hoyas started their morning in Connecticut competing against No. 2 Yale and No. 12 MIT, a race that saw the Hoya lightweight varsity upset the Bulldogs, a first ever accomplishment for the program. Georgetown then traveled south to finish their double header in Princeton, N.J. facing off against Harvard and Columbia.
"This was a great day of racing and a satisfying win for us," lightweight head coach Evans Liolin said. "Andy Card and Charley Butt are two of the best minds in the business and it is always a great test to go up against them. It was David vs. Goliath in the morning and perhaps it was a bit much to try and sack Rome in the afternoon. All of the crews we saw today put together impressive races."
"In the first race of the day our varsity eight put together a really strong second thousand to beat out both Yale and MIT," said senior co-captain Tim Freeman (Portland, Ore./Jesuit). "Our afternoon race pitted us against two good crews and some tough conditions. Unfortunately, we didn't capitalize on the momentum from the morning, and allowed Harvard to slip away in the last third."
In Connecticut, the Hoyas second freshman eight became the first Georgetown crew to defeat Yale in a dual meet, finishing in a time of 6:11.8. An hour later, the Hoyas lightweight varsity eight avenged a 12-second loss from the Princeton Chase in the fall, defeating Yale and MIT with a very quick 5:32.4. This marks the first time the varsity crew has beat Yale in a regular season race.
"It is exciting to have some positive affirmation for our work and we are looking forward to building on this performance in the coming weeks," Freeman said. "All five crews battled hard and will be ready for another crack come Eastern Sprints."
Georgetown's first freshman eight finished in a time of 5:42.8, just over a second behind Yale.
"On the whole, I was not unhappy with the freshman races," freshman lightweight coach Morgan Henderson said. "The first boat lost both, but showed that they're right up there with the best crews in the league; the second boat demonstrated their prowess with convincing wins over Yale, and a narrow loss to Harvard. There are things to work on, but there are also things that we did well. The freshman squad has come a long way since the fall, and I think we have more speed in us yet."
In New Jersey, the Georgetown lightweight varsity finished in 6:18.6, close behind Harvard and in front of Columbia. That order of finish held true in the second varsity eight race and the third varsity eight race.
