Nov. 2, 2010

PRINCETON, N.J. - The Georgetown University lightweight men's crew raced to an impressive result at the 3-mile Princeton Chase, finishing third out of 29 entries in a time of 13:25.8, just five seconds behind Harvard and eight seconds behind Head of the Charles champion Princeton.

The third place finish is an improvement over last year's ninth place performance and an improvement over last weekend's eighth place at the Head of the Charles. The result is the best ever for any Georgetown Eight at the Princeton Chase. To continue their run, the Hoyas' Lightweight Varsity Four went on to finish second, behind only Harvard, and in front of Princeton. The four tied the Hoyas' best finish in that event dating back to 2004. The Lightweight JV also bested their time of a year ago by twenty seconds and moved up six spots from 2009, a sign of good things to come from the second tier of Hoya Lights.

"I was proud of the whole squad this weekend. We have a concise fall season and while we have yet to accomplish all we've set out to do, with each year we get closer. Our performance at the Chase is reflective of a great process and some hard work by our very young team," said Head Lightweight Coach Evans Liolin. "With so much talent in the top crews, we're certainly in fast company, so I feel good about how and where we've set our course."

Freshman Coach Ken Dreyfuss commented on his frosh performance at the Chase: "Our freshman eights have logged quality hours this fall learning what it means to move a boat, creating a team style and a common rhythm. I was delighted to see eighteen of them at the Chase able to row down the course at a moderate cadence, displaying many of the skills that have been our major focus. It is a pleasure to coach each and every member of this team, as they create their own spirit and destiny in the months ahead."

"We aim for improvement each year and I thought the results reflected what has been a highly productive fall for our group," said co-Captain Bill Houston '11 (Haddon Heights, NJ/St. Joseph's Prep) echoing his coaches comments. "We'll continue to build on this momentum and raise the bar for the team as we move into the next phase of our season."

The Princeton Chase signals the end of the Georgetown lightweight fall racing season. Next weekend, the freshman heavyweight and lightweight men's crews will travel to New Brunswick, New Jersey for the Rutgers Fall Classic, a freshman-only race.