ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's heavyweight rowing team travels to Princeton, N.J., this Saturday for the Carnegie Cup on Lake Carnegie, facing host Princeton and Yale in one of collegiate rowing's longest-running rivalries.

Racing begins at 9:15 a.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ in the United States and on Stretch Internet internationally.

Todd Kennett '91, the Spirit of '57 Director of Rowing and head coach of Cornell men's heavyweight rowing, made clear what kind of weekend lies ahead.

"These are the kinds of races you want," Kennett said. "Strong crews, hard racing, and no room for pretending."

Princeton enters ranked at the top of the East after beating Harvard last weekend, a result Kennett said confirmed what the Tigers have shown all spring.

"They look every bit the part right now," he said, "rowing with confidence, depth, and the kind of speed you expect from a crew at the top of the rankings."

Yale arrives having dropped a race to Penn last weekend, a result that may push the Bulldogs down from their No. 4 East ranking. Kennett noted the mixed results make Yale no less dangerous.

"They still have too much talent not to be respected," he said. "A proud crew can be dangerous."

Still, Kennett sees more of an opening in this year's field than in some recent runnings of the Carnegie Cup.

"There appears to be more of an opening into this race than we have seen at times in the past," he said. "That does not make the task easy, but it does mean opportunity is there for a crew ready to seize it."

Cornell arrives off what Kennett called a relatively strong showing against Syracuse and Navy in the Goes Trophy, highlighted by a 1V8+ performance that produced the second-fastest 2,000-meter time in program history at 5:37.2. The emphasis this week has been building on that foundation rather than simply repeating it.

"We raced with more intent, we were in the fight, and there were stretches where our pace and toughness were very good," Kennett said. "Good performances only matter if they become the new standard. We need to sharpen the starts, trust the base rhythm and be more aggressive when the race asks hard questions."

Kennett pointed to the team's attitude this week as a reason for optimism.

"The athletes have been honest, hungry and eager to improve," he said. "There is a maturity growing in the group and that matters in April."

The Carnegie Cup dates to 1921 and has been contested 97 times, with Princeton leading the all-time series with 40 wins to Cornell's 30 and Yale's 27. Princeton is the two-time defending champion. Cornell has not won the Carnegie Cup since 2012 and has finished third in 10 consecutive races.

Forecast calls for a crosswind with some rain, which Kennett said he hopes translates to flat water and competitive conditions given the warmer water and river current.

"This weekend will tell us more," Kennett said. "That is why we race."

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Subject to change
9:15 a.m. — 4V8+
9:30 a.m. — 3V8+
9:45 a.m. — 2V8+
10 a.m. — 1V8+ (Carneige Cup)

LINEUPS
1V8+: Jack Walker (coxswain), Carl Lewis (stroke), Tony Klar, Abe Litvak, Constantino Oberto-Calleri, Joost Schirm, Walid Ghamra, Finn Hayes, Iasonas Exarchou (bow).
 
2V8+: Sofie Cole (coxswain), Marc Albrechtskirchinger (stroke), Johnnie Moriarty, Noah Kanefsky, Ward Dobeck, Nate Stoulil, Michael Goodall, Morley Pendred, Justin Umbrasas (bow).
 
3V8+: Yoonu Park (coxswain), Joe Savell (stroke), Shane Gazdus, Veeran Dhaliwal, Xavier Wendt, Michael Meneshian, Harrison Sremac, Bennett Dodge, Zachary Vorrath (bow).
 
4V8+: Marcus Decorato (coxswain), James Larrabee (stroke), Donovan Moses, Alexander Taylor, Mason Gossage, Lucas Singhal, Iason Diogenous, Oles Spodin, Florian Offner (bow).