Mother Nature changes Saturday Crew expectations

Brett CohenBrett CohenDaily Pennsylvanian Sports Writer Thunderstorms early Saturday delayed the start of the races, and the threat of storms later caused the races to be run close together. The results of the races are still not available. "We have the times, but they aren't very useful without the places," heavyweight coach Stan Bergman said. The fall races are used as a way of evaluating the conditioning of the team. The heavyweight team used Saturday's race to give it an idea of what shape it was in and also what areas had to be worked on as the Quakers try to improve on last year's disappointing season. "There were some pluses and minuses about the race that could be seen," Bergman said. "On the positive side, we were very aggressive. On the negative side, we did not hold onto the finish well and got tired at the end." "The performance was good for the amount of work we had done," captain Sean MacDermott said, "but it was not outstanding." Perhaps the biggest benefit of the race was it gave the team an idea of where two of its league rivals, Brown and Cornell, stand in comparison to Penn. "Brown definitely looked very competitive," MacDermott said. "The race helped give us direction as to what level we have to reach to compete with them." The women's crew team also had its first test to see how its undersized squad would compete against bigger and stronger teams. Penn did receive results from the 500-meter sprint, in which it placed a close third behind Cornell and Buffalo. "We were moving well at the finish," coach Carol Bower said, "but we were not too quick off the line." The Quakers did not find out the results of the main race on Saturday, but they were able to assess their performance in other areas. "We were able to go at 28 strokes per minute, which is what we wanted to achieve," Bower said. "The team said the boat felt strong, but a little jerky. This shows that we aren't quite in sync yet." Cornell and Brown established themselves as the class of the league. Both have already had six weeks of work, compared with three for Penn, so the Quakers have some catching up to do. · The men's lightweight team spent Saturday competing in the 26-mile charity row for the Bethesda Project to benefit the homeless. Racing against Delaware's heavyweight team and several heavyweight club teams, Quaker boats placed first and third. "It was definitely good endurance practice for the team," coach Bruce Konopka said. "It also helped them realize how competitive they can be." All three teams will compete next Saturday at the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River. The race may provide the answers to the lingering questions for all three teams.