Crew gets ready for Navy Day

Though their upcoming regatta is called the Navy Day, Penn crews would like to make it their day on the Schuylkill. This Saturday, all three Penn crew teams open their fall seasons with the Navy Day Regatta. Though spring is the main racing season for crew, all Quakers rowers are looking forward to their first test of the season. "We are anxious to get racing," Penn crew program director Stan Bergman said. "We had success last year at this regatta so we'd like to continue to perform well." The varsity boats from Penn's women, heavyweight men and lightweight men all won their respective events last year. Each of the three teams, however, is coming into this race with different goals in mind. After winning the Eastern Sprints Championship last year and traveling to the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in England, the heavyweight men have lost four of their nine athletes from the varsity boat to graduation. While losing four is considered a relatively normal loss, these four all rowed on the same side -- or position -- in the boat. This most likely means that the pool for new varsity members is effectively cut in half. With a strong incoming sophomore class and stellar senior leadership, the Quakers plan to fill that void successfully. "The sophomores are really stepping up this year," captain Greg Rauscher said. "And though we have less than seven returning seniors, we've set a lot of goals and the leadership is great." The quality and experience of the returning five, combined with the talent of the upcoming varsity members, will mean that this year's heavyweight men should continue their national success this fall and throughout the year. Like all crews, the Penn heavyweights view the fall as a good chance to test their lineup, but still keep in mind that spring is their main racing season. "I view the fall like spring training for baseball," Bergman said. "It's a chance to see how we stand with our conditioning and training." The varsity has yet to row its racing lineup consistently in practice, focusing instead on improving technique in smaller boats. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the heavyweight men will be rowing hard this Saturday. Penn's women rowers are returning eight of the nine members of their varsity boat. These eight return from a spring which saw the team's first trip to the newly inaugurated NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. After coming in first at the Navy Day last year, Penn has no plans to perform differently. "Our goal is to win," Penn women's coach Barb Kirch said. "But we also know that Navy is stronger than they were last year; it should be a more competitive regatta than usual." Kirch plans to give as many freshman as she can experience in the varsity. Unlike the men's teams, where freshmen are required to row in their own boat, the women are allowed to row freshmen in their varsity lineups. "Right now, my main goal is to raise the level of expectation for the athletes on the team," Kirch said. "I'm excited about the season, the athletes are terrific and their work ethic is inspiring." The women themselves are just as excited about their chances this season as their coach. "We're excited because our boat is much stronger than we were last fall," returning varsity member Rachel Jolley said. "Last year was a building year, so this year we're looking forward to being much faster." Getting faster is also the goal for the lightweight men, who are returning seven of their nine varsity members. After a season which saw the Quakers finish seventh at the Eastern Sprints, the Red and Blue hope to start this season strongly. "Our goal is to come in first and second," lightweight coach Bruce Konopka said, referring to the fact that both his JV and varsity will row in the same event. "Navy should be our main competition, but Rutgers might be a possibility." Like their heavyweight counterparts, the lightweights are basing their varsity lineup solely on ergometer -- or rowing machine -- performances. The lights, however, will be rowing four sophomores in that lineup, an unusually large number. This may be a sign of good things to come in the future. For all Penn crews, the Navy Day Regatta is a first chance to try new lineups in a racing environment. And even though they know that the bulk of their season is months away, there is no doubt that they will be pouring their hearts into the Schuylkill this Saturday.