Hwt. Crew misses first win

Yale wins BlackwellYale wins BlackwellCup for thirdYale wins BlackwellCup for thirdconsecutive year Although the Penn men's heavyweight crew team looked to capture the Blackwell Cup on Saturday for its first win of the season, the Quakers fell short of their goal. With the No. 1 varsity boat finishing less than a second behind Yale, the Elis took home the Cup for the third consecutive year. Although Penn was ahead of Yale for the majority of the race, the Elis moved in front just before the finish line. However, Penn had no difficulty defeating Columbia, the only other competitor in the regatta. "It was another total heartbreaker," Quakers captain Hardy Viener said. "You just have to make the most of it in terms of learning where you can get better." Penn plans to prepare itself this week in practice for its upcoming race against Harvard and Navy in the Adams Cup by working on technique and sprinting. "The body of our race is solid," Viener said. "We've proven we have the speed." The No. 2 varsity boat fared no better against Yale. After falling behind the Elis at the start, the Quakers came back in the body of the race until they were neck and neck with Yale. Penn fell apart in the last 750 meters, losing to the Elis by just 1.8 seconds. The Lions again placed third in the competition. "We just couldn't finish it off," Quakers coxswain Rob Blumhof said. "We weren't very aggressive in the sprint." The No. 1 freshmen boat's race was not quite as close. Again beating Columbia, Penn finished 10 seconds behind Yale. "To quote coach [Stan] Bergman 'We're right there knocking on the door. It's time to stop knocking and kick the door down,' " Blumhof said. Despite the frustrating loss, the Quakers have not lost faith in their ability to win Eastern Sprints.