Lwt. Crew captures Brett Cup

Last weekend's shaky season opener against Navy is no longer in the thoughts of Penn's lightweight crew team. This weekend, all four Quakers boats defeated Rutgers on its home course on the Raritan River -- allowing Penn to capture the Lev Brett Cup. It is the first time for the Quakers that every boat won its respective race since coach Bruce Konopka took charge of the lightweight team in 1991. "All the boats won very convincingly," Konopka said. "All the crews rowed really strong." The varsity boat gained its first win of the season, after losing by only 0.9 seconds last weekend to Navy. In Saturday's race, however, the Quakers had a much easier time, crossing the finish line nine seconds ahead of Rutgers. "Everyone really came together," Penn junior Demetrios Tsipras said. "This was the most relaxed we've been." Often going unnoticed is the freshmen boat, who rowed their race aggressively. The first freshman boat, filled with Penn's recruits, won its race by 11 seconds -- the largest margin of the day. The Quakers' recruits have performed beyond expectations this season. All season in practice and at the Navy race, the first freshmen boat's times have been close to the varsity's times. "I don't think we're on the same level," Penn freshman Joe Corcoran said. "But I'm glad our coach gives us the opportunity. It helps us a lot by pushing us, and it helps them too." Traditionally, the freshman boats practice separately from the varsity boats. This year, however, the first freshman boat practices with the varsity, something Konopka had never done before. "They push the varsity a lot," Konopka said. "The two boats really push each other to higher levels. It makes for a much stronger team." Another great race was rowed by the junior varsity crew, who for the past four years has struggled in the spring season, losing many close races. This weekend, the JV boat won its first race in four years -- defeating Rutgers' boat by 4.5 seconds. "It's been a long time," Konopka said. "I was very excited for them." The second freshman boat was also successful, winning by six seconds. With such successes from every boat, the Penn lightweight crew team is performing well so far this season. But its toughest races are yet to come which means each and every week, Penn will need to build and improve. "We're making great progress," Konopka said. "Now we have to get a little faster yet."