A Penn crew team heads to England for first time since 1991. When the oars of Penn's freshman heavyweight rowers dip into the Thames River on July 2nd, they will be the first University property to do so in six years. Penn only sends a boat to the Henley Royal Regatta if it has won the league championship, which is contested at the Eastern Sprint Championships. This year, Penn defeated the other fourteen schools to earn this honor. "It's a great event. If you ever get the chance, you have to jump on it," Larry Connell, Penn's freshman crew coach of the past 13 years said. This boat is not the first that Connell has coached to a Henleys appearance. In 1987 and in 1989 he also had a hand in developing two Penn league champions that went on to row in the Henleys. The freshman Eight's only loss this year occurred in the last race of the official collegiate season, the IRA Championships. There, Penn's freshman heavyweight crew was not able to maintain the type of speed they had all season. "The first thing we did after the IRAs was to rest three or four days, which was good because we had been rowing very regularly since September," Connell said. "We had very good speed at the league championships and sometimes it's hard to hold onto that, but we are able to build it back up." Since those few days off, the freshman heavyweight crew, under Connell, has been rowing twice a day to rebuild a base and reestablish their speed. "They seem to be coming around," Connell said before the team departed yesterday. They will fly to England where they will train in the week leading up to the races. The Henley Royal Regatta takes place from July 2-6 and typically features the best crew teams in the world. The Henleys are unique in that they are not governed by either the Amateur Rowing Association in England or the International Rowing Federation, but are recognized by both groups. This practice occurs because the Henleys were first held in 1839, long before the establishment of either rowing federation. In addition, the course, which covers one mile and 550 yards -- slightly longer than the standard international distance of 2,000 meters -- is not divided into several lanes as in many races, but upholds the format of racing just two boats at a time. The single-elimination tournament then ensures that every race is very competitive. There are several different cups for which crews can compete. Penn's freshman heavyweight crew will row for the Temple Challenge Cup, which was added in 1992 for the students Eights event. The Temple Challenge Cup is restricted to non-varsity student boats. Last year, the freshman crew from Yale won the Cup. This year, 58 boats are entered to battle for the Temple Challenge Cup, and the Quakers hope they have recovered their form from the beginning of the year. "They're a skillful and talented group of freshmen," Connell said. "I imagine that some of them will find a seat in the varsity boat next year."
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