W. Crew races past Yale to open season

The women's crew team opened its season Saturday by beating Yale, Navy and Columbia on the Schuylkill River. The win over Yale was especially impressive because it was only the third time in 21 years that the Quakers had beaten the traditionally strong Elis. At last year's Connell Cup, Yale beat Penn by five seconds. This year, the Quakers completed the 2,000-meter race course in 6:38.2, almost six seconds faster than the Elis' 6:43.9. On the other end of the spectrum, the win over Navy was Penn's ninth in a row in sprint matchups between the two teams. While the first varsity eight rowed against Navy, Yale and Columbia, Penn's other boats only faced Navy. The Quakers' second eight and second novice boats were victorious, while Navy won the varsity four and first novice races. "I thought it was a great beginning to the season," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. "I think all of the crews rowed well." Last spring, Penn beat Navy in the Navy Regatta by three seconds but the Quakers lost to Navy in a longer head race last fall. "I thought Navy had been improving," Kirch said. "I was very pleased [that we beat them]. They have a good boat." The spring defeat of Navy came as no surprise to the Quakers. "We usually beat Navy during the spring," senior captain Heather Roehrs said. "The race is longer in the fall. You use different techniques and there's more room for error. The spring season is what really counts." "This is my fourth year doing crew," Roehrs said. "It felt good to finally be part of a varsity boat that was able to beat Yale by a significant margin." Columbia came in 17 seconds behind Penn, posting a time of 6:55. The Quakers, who beat the Lions by seven seconds last year, do not believe Columbia poses a legitimate threat. Last weekend's victories built confidence for Penn's upcoming races. "Beating Yale was something we needed to do to start off well," senior Lauri Kaufman said. "We won by open water." Penn's second and third varsity and novice teams showed promise as well. The Quakers second varsity boat finished its race in 6:44, exactly eight seconds ahead of Navy. Penn's second varsity boat finished with a time just one second slower than Yale's varsity eight. "We have a lot of young talent this year," Roehrs said. Penn's four finished behind Navy's A boat but ahead of Navy's B boat. Penn's first novice eight, comprised only of freshmen, lost by four seconds to their Midshipmen counterparts. "They didn't win by open water," freshman Victoria Kilner said. "Our boats were next to each other." Penn's second novices beat Navy by six seconds. The novices are optimistic about the rest of their season. "We plan on winning every other race this season," Kilner said. "We're a strong, solid team. We're proud of how we raced Saturday." The novices see their race against Navy as a learning experience. "We have things to improve on," Kilner said. "Now we know what to do next time." Kaufman sees the weekend as a positive start to the season. "It was a hump we needed to climb over," Kaufman said. "We're off to a good start. We're just going to keep on pushing."