At Classic, W. Crew edges Yale yet again

Last weekend, the women's crew varsity eight flew to San Diego hoping to improve on last year's last-place finish in the San Diego Crew Classic. The Quakers rowed to fifth place in the Jessop-Whittier Cup Petite Final -- or 11th place overall out of 12 crews -- with a time of 7:33.08. Penn improved on last year's finish by beating Ivy League rival Yale -- which finished at 7:40.26 -- for the second week in a row. "[The team was] happy with how they raced," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. "They know they gave it their best. It was a motivating and valuable trip, regardless of our results." The race, held on Mission Bay, featured top-notch crew teams including the Universities of Washington, Wisconsin and California. Washington took first place with a time of seven minutes flat in the grand final. The Huskies edged the University of Virginia by a mere two seconds. The San Diego Crew Classic began on Saturday with two heats of six crews each. The top three crews in each heat advanced to the grand final, held Sunday, while the other six competed in the petite final. In their heat, the Quakers finished sixth, 10 seconds behind Michigan, the third-place crew in the race. "The boat didn't feel the same as it had been feeling," freshman Kate Magee said. "I think we were a little nervous because we were up against the best schools in the country." In addition to Magee, who rowed in the three seat, the Quakers varsity featured coxswain Catherine Eikel, stroke Rachel Jolley, Dara Friedman, Lauri Kauffman, Diane Lincoln, Rachel Pringle, Rebecca Rothman and bow seat Heather Roehrs. In the petite final, Penn regrouped from Saturday's performance to edge Yale while finishing behind Washington State, Oregon State, Ohio State and the University of North Carolina. The Quakers are generally pleased with their performance but the race showed them they have room for improvement. "It was a great learning experience. There was a deep field in terms of competition," co-captain Roehrs said. "Our physical size is tiny compared to [athletes from the] West Coast schools. We got to see the best crews in the country, and we got to see what challenges we have to rise up to." The Crew Classic marked the Quakers' second meet of the season. Kirch believes it is helpful to race in such a big competition early in the year. "There is tremendous value in making this trip and seeing these crews early in the season," Kirch said. "It gives us an immediate picture of what the NCAAs will be like." Kirch feels that the introduction of the NCAA Championships for women's rowing in 1997 has helped the sport mature and increased the level of competition. "Virginia came in two seconds after Washington and their varsity program is only three years old," she said. "Cal-Berkeley was third and they were at the bottom of the poll last year." While the varsity eight was in San Diego, the rest of the Penn women's crew team raced Yale and Columbia at Yale for a points trophy. The Quakers entered with a lead based on last week's results on the Schuylkill River, where Penn's varsity beat Yale, Columbia and Navy. At New Haven this weekend, Penn's second varsity beat both Yale and Columbia to secure the trophy. "We were very excited," said co-captain Melinda Patterson, who raced in the second varsity eight. "We [beat Yale] by 12 seconds in the head winds. We started out aggressively and we kept it." Penn's novice boats were not nearly as successful. The first novice boat beat Columbia but lost to Yale, while the second novices raced only Yale and lost. "I feel we did well but I think we were capable of doing a lot better," freshman second novice Sarah Camp said. "We knew Yale was good, but we didn't know what to expect of their freshman team." Camp believes the race will help the team improve. "We need more time to work together," she said. "I think we will be doing well by the end of the season."