After a set of mixed results at last week’s Head of the Charles regatta, Penn rowing is hoping to make a splash at this weekend’s Princeton Chase before heading into the long, cold winter.
As the last major race of the season, the Princeton Chase will be the program's measuring stick going into winter training and the last opportunity to assess the competition for the much anticipated spring season.
As the last of the three major head race-style regattas of the fall season, following the Navy Day and Head of the Charles events earlier this month, the Princeton Chase will provide a chance for Penn to test its entire crews against the other Ivies and others, like Navy, Berkeley and the University of Delaware.
Penn will be represented by its heavyweights, lightweights and women’s crews at the event.
Last weekend, a handful of Penn boats had a chance to row at the Head of the Charles regatta.
“We were pretty disappointed,” said Mike Lane, head coach for the women, reflecting on how the two women’s boats finished in the bottom halves of their races.
“It was a good eye opener that will hopefully help us be even more prepared,” he continued, explaining how they have made some lineup changes for the weekend’s Princeton Chase event.
While the women’s crew, unlike the men’s heavyweight and lightweight crews, does have another smaller event in a few weeks, Lane holds this weekend’s event as the most important of the fall.
“We want to try to build upon some of the successes we had in the Navy Day regatta,” he said.
Lane remains hopeful about the weekend.
“We want to finish in the top half of the Ivy League.”
Head coach of the lightweight crew, Colin Farrell, was a bit more contented over last weekend’s results.
“It was a good day,” he said.
Two out of the three lightweight boats finished sixth and seventh respectively in their races last weekend.
Farrell, much like Lane, finds the timing and competition at the Princeton Chase a factor which makes it more important than the previous two major fall races.
“It’s our last chance to see ourselves against the other teams,” he said, but at the same time emphasized the importance of focusing on their own races — rather than those of their opponents.
“It’s a simple task,” he said. "But it’s not easy.”
Both coaches mentioned how the limited time between the races presents a major challenge in the fall season.
“We would need another week or two to prepare for Sunday,” Lane said. “But we just don’t have it.”
Despite all the challenges, he is contented with the season so far.
“I think we accomplished a lot this fall, for sure.”
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