W. Crew falls to No. 4 Cornell at Class of '89 Plate

Over the last couple of weeks, the Penn women's crew team has struggled with its rhythm. Although the Quakers have raced hard, the inconsistency of their strokes have been too much to overcome resulting in two straight losses. Saturday, the Quakers used a slower stroke so that everyone would be in sync, but it was not enough to beat No. 4 Cornell in the Class of '89 Plate on Cayuga Lake in New York. "I definitely felt it was their best race of the year," Penn coach Carol Bower said. The Quakers fell behind early in the race, just as they did last week. But Penn battled back and handled the spurts of a fast Cornell crew. "They handled the middle well. They never let Cornell get too far ahead, and we were well ahead of Rutgers," Bower said. Constant troubles with the start have forced Penn to excel at the middle portion of its races all season. "We need to work on our starts and our sprints," Bower said. Bower added that the team gave themselves a boost of confidence by rowing well this weekend. After losing two straight races, Penn fought Cornell to the finish. "This race could've been a downward point, but the girls made it an upward point," Bower said. Bower also pointed out that the team used their other races as learning experiences instead of sulking over the losses. With the loss to Cornell, Penn dropped to 1-2 in the Ivy League, but still maintains a winning record overall at 4-3. The Quakers were ranked No. 10 in the East before the race but will likely drop after the loss. Despite its record, the team maintains a positive attitude. "The varsity is moving onward and upward," Quakers junior varsity coxswain Devon Hanley said. The junior varsity boat lost for the first time in a race that featured mix-ups in the length of the race and in the course of the race. "It'll make us work harder and give us a little humility," Hanley said. If the Quakers can maintain the rhythm that they found, they should become a threat by the time the Eastern Sprints come around. This coming week, Penn faces a big challenge from Ivy League foes Princeton and Dartmouth.