W. Crew overcomes Naval Academy

After getting off to a great start, the Penn women's crew team rowed impressively to a win over Navy in its season opener Saturday in the Schuylkill River. The varsity boat got off to a calm but quick start and never looked back. The Quakers led the Midshipmen the entire race, and finished with a time of 6 minutes, 44 seconds to win by :06. "A good start is something we had really worked on in practice," Penn coach Carol Bower said. "They really nailed it on Saturday." The Quakers followed their strong opening with a fast first 500 meters. Just when it looked like Penn would break open, Navy started to come back. However, the Midshipmen could never catch up, as Penn finished with a sprint at the end to win by 1 1/2 boat lengths. "They stayed calm during the charge from Navy," Bower said about her team. "Even though it wasn't the best part of our race they didn't let it bother them." The Quakers raced after having cut back on practices all week. With co-captain Alison Goldstein under the weather, Bower didn't want to make her any sicker or get anyone else in the boat sick. Penn was also forced to row without sophomore Heather Whalen, who was sidelined with tendinitis in her wrist. Instead of using a rower from junior varsity, Bower went with third varsity boat member Silja Haagenson in the sixth seat. The move worked -- the Quakers' chemistry was not affected at all. "I decided to put Silja in because I thought she would have the same affect on the boat as Heather would have," Bower explained. "Silja did a great job essentially coming off the bench and filling in." Bower also singled out the performance of coxswain Kate Lehman. "She does an exceptional job of identifying how the crew is feeling and doing what she needs to do to gather her troops," Bower said. "Other than that the win was pretty much a full team effort." The Red and Blue beat a Navy team that has gotten stronger every year. This past fall, the Midshipmen beat Penn in some head races. "The win gave us confidence," co-captain Katrina Veerman said. Added Bower, "We can feel good about the start of our season." In other races, the junior varsity boat beat two Navy boats with a time of 6:59. Penn's first novice boat won but the Quakers' second novice boat lost. Penn's season continues this weekend in the San Diego Classic when it takes on some of the toughest competition in the country. Radcliffe, George Washington and Cornell will all be competing.