Freshmen of Penn Rowing gather collective strength for Rutgers Fall Classic

Every race is an opportunity for growth, especially for young rowers.

In one of their last stops for the fall season, the heavyweight freshmen of Penn rowing will race this Saturday at the Rutgers Fall Classic Regatta.

As winter training draws near, the event provides a late practice opportunity as the rowers look ahead towards the spring season.  

The event utilizes a unique format, specifically designed to test the depth—or evenness—of the crew.

In regular head races, each boat races by itself in a time trial race. This Saturday, the finishing times of two boats will be added together to form one time which determines the results.

“The crew needs to be strong and deep,” said heavyweight crew head coach Greg Myhr.

“We need to have sixteen rowers that are all working really hard.”

Though the results will be determined by the combined results of two carefully balanced boats, a third Penn boat will also be racing for training purposes.

While Myhr will not be able to make it to Saturday’s event, assistant coach Drew Baustian will be there with the rowers.

“It’s a good opportunity,” Baustian said, and went on to explain how they approach the race. “After the Princeton Chase, we mixed the boats up, so no one got comfortable,” he continued, explaining how this creates an opportunity for the less experienced to learn from the more experienced rowers.

“This way, they can pick up a few things naturally.”

Matt Kreps, a freshman bound for the Fall Classic this Saturday, is excited about the weekend.  Kreps thinks the event will allow the crew to showcase the strength of some of the new rowers.

“It’s an interesting race,” he said.

“Some rowers only learned how to row two months ago,” he said, referring to freshmen who picked up rowing just after arriving at Penn.

On the long road to the spring season, Kreps, like his coaches, is aware of the importance of heading into winter training with full force.

This fall, the force has been there, especially for the freshmen who have not failed to impress.

At the Navy Day event, Penn took the top finish in the freshmen eights race, edging out the top Naval Academy crew, who will be rowing against Penn again this Saturday.

 At the Princeton Chase, the freshmen eight fell behind two Princeton boats for a third place finish.

“We were a bit disappointed we didn’t win,” said Baustian. “It was a solid effort.”

Myhr looks back at the freshmen’s performances over the fall season in a positive light.

“They are rowing very well,” he said.

“The good ingredients are there,” Myhr continued, anticipating what more time and training may bring for future seasons.

At last year’s Rutgers Fall Classic, Penn finished second behind Navy.

This year may very well be different.

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