San Diego Classic will prepare W. Crew for Easterns

A preseason competition can be a good indicator of how good a team is. In some cases, though, it can be misleading -- just ask the men's basketball team. That's why Penn women's crew coach Carol Bower is taking a cautious approach to this weekend's San Diego Classic. "You don't want to have too much ride on anything that's early in the season," Bower said. "If we do well, that's great. If we don't, we'll know what to work on. This lets us know where we are in relation to other teams." Four of the 12 teams competing are in the Quakers' division, the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges. Tomorrow's race is divided into two six-team heats. The top three finishers in each heat race Sunday for the championships. Varsity and junior varsity squads are in separate competitions. In the varsity heat, Penn appears to be in the more competitive race. Two of the three teams that beat the Quakers in last year's regatta, the University of Washington and Wisconsin, contain scholarship athletes and will be in their initial field. "We definitely feel like we have a tough heat," Bower said. "But I think its better going into any race thinking it's going to be tough." The regatta will be a good experience for the Quakers in another way. Their final sprints at the end of the season follow the same six-lane format as the San Diego Classic. When a team is in line with five other boats, it has to wait a little longer until the official makes sure every team is ready. "A six-lane race is a whole different feeling," Bower said. "During the season we compete against just one or two crews. The San Diego Classic really prepares us for our final races in May at the Eastern Sprints." Penn (1-0) enters the regatta after having beaten Navy last Saturday in a time of 6 minutes, 44 seconds. The Quakers got off to a great start and also finished well, but they struggled a little during the third quarter of the race. "We need to emphasize the third 500 meters," Bower said. "It's critical. We want to make sure we're in good position for our sprint at the end." The Quakers have also been working on keeping their strokes long. Unlike some crews that rely on being a high stroke team, Penn relies specifically on the length of their strokes. Often when a crew gets tired, the rowers start to slouch. In turn they cannot reach as far and their strokes start to shorten up. "We want to keep our strokes long to make the boat go smoothly," co-captain Alison Goldstein said. "We don't want them to be short and choppy." On the injury front, Heather Whalen, the sixth seat who missed the race against Navy with tendinitis in her wrist, is probable for this weekend. Third varsity rower Silja Haagenson, who filled in for Whalen and did an excellent job, did not make the trip to San Diego because plane reservations had to be made in advance. Therefore Bower will use junior varsity rower Marianne Salter if Whalen can't compete. Also, Goldstein, who has a cold, will race and is optimistic about the team's chances. "Across the board it will be a pretty tough race, but I think we can take them," she said. "We're really going into this race pretty confident," Bower said. "If we didn't race Navy last weekend I think we would have gone nuts because the team is ready. We're ready for a big regatta."