Lightweight Crew comes back to pass BC

The Penn lightweight crew team first varsity eight battled Boston College throughout its race Saturday at the Frostbite Regatta on the Schuylkill River. After falling behind in the beginning, the Quakers caught up and passed the Eagles to win by 1.8 seconds. The officials must have been watching a different race, because they initially announced BC as the winner. They quickly realized their mistake, and Penn was given its proper place. The slight mix-up was the only thing that went wrong for the lightweights on Saturday. In addition to the varsity eight's win, the two varsity fours won their races. "We had not done that well at the Frostbite in a long time," coach Bruce Konopka said. "The results were good and the team gained good race experience." Penn's home-course advantage was a factor. The Quakers knew exactly when to go all out and when to pace themselves. Saturday's course was 2,000 meters, in contrast to the 5,000 head races that are run throughout the fall. The 2,000 races are the same distance as the races in the spring, so they serve as a better indicator of the team's possible success. "This was a good way to end the season," senior captain Alex Rogin said. "We came back from being down, which showed a lot." The lightweight team now enters the winter phase of its year-long training schedule. "The Florida trip is a good morale booster," said senior commodore Pete Tennicki. "We will hit the ground running in the spring." Konopka is looking to work on the team's physical strength and overall conditioning during the winter. "We are right on track for having a good spring," Konopka said. "We just need a little more seasoning during the winter." · The Penn women's crew team varsity eight boat did not finish the fall season as well as it had hoped. In a race they expected to win, the Quakers placed third overall, behind Temple and Ithaca. "The team couldn't get a real rhythm going," coach Carol Bower said. "This teaches us not to assume we are always better than anyone else." In sharp contrast to the varsity eight, the JV eight had its best race of the season. Penn dominated the field in its race. "I had never seen that group row that well," Bower said. "It was the most unified effort that I had seen in a long time." The team has a lot of work ahead during the long winter. Bower has seen individual improvement, but it has not translated into results. Bower believes the winter season will be determined by how much the team is ready to commit to working hard. "There will be a team meeting to see what commitment the team will make," Bower said. "It has to be from the team."