Though rain pounded Penn’s campus over the weekend, the men’s and women’s rowing teams found different ways to deal with the precipitation.
The men’s heavyweight team, competing at home against Northeastern and George Washington, paddled through it, taking three out of eight races on Saturday.
With the win over Northeastern, the Quakers reclaimed the Burk Cup for just the second time in 13 years. Each crew remained close after 500 meters but the Red and Blue pulled away, outlasting the Huskies by 2.4 seconds.
The 10th-ranked lightweight men’s team also thrived in the rain, sweeping No. 12 Mercyhurst in the varsity and freshman races.
Meanwhile, the women’s team avoided the rain entirely by heading northwards.
Competing in the Connell Cup, the Quakers took on No. 7 Yale and Columbia on Yale’s campus, rowing on the Housatonic River.
The off-campus surroundings treated the Red and Blue well against the Lions — the Quakers easily held off Columbia in all three races that pitted the schools against each other.
Things were far more difficult against the host Elis, though, as Yale defeated Penn in all five races, with none being decided by a margin closer than 6.7 seconds.
While the women’s team is back in action next weekend, traveling to Boston to compete against Northeastern and Syracuse in the Orange Challenge Cup, the men will have to wait a bit longer — they host Princeton and Columbia on April 12.
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