Fast Georgetown start keeps W. Crew from Schuylkill victory

Binoculars-wielding parents, red-and-blue ribboned Penn students and quacking ducks gathered at the bleachers on the Schuylkill River to watch the women's crew varsity eight row to a second-place finish Saturday against Georgetown and Drexel. The Quakers came in a mere two seconds behind Georgetown and seven seconds ahead of Drexel in their final home meet of the season. "I thought it was a close race," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. But Kirch obviously would have been happier with a Penn victory. "It could have been three seconds closer," she said. From the start of the race, Drexel's boat posed little threat to Penn, while the Hoyas' victory was not definite until the final seconds. Penn was only half a boat length behind Georgetown when the Hoyas reached the finish line. "We have a lot of depth but we need to find more speed for the first varsity," Kirch said. "It's a good boat but they need to be faster." While the Quakers are not satisfied with their finish, they know what they need to work on for future home races. Both Kirch and sophomore Dara Friedman believe Penn could have made a sharper turn when the Schuylkill course goes under the Strawberry Mansion bridge. "There's a turn after the first 500 meters. It's a pretty strategic move," Friedman said. "We didn't kick it as strong as we wanted to." Penn's difficulty on the turn only magnified Georgetown's fast start, which had the Quakers playing catch-up over the last 1,500 meters. "We didn't expect them to start as fast as they did," Friedman said. "Georgetown's varsity eight is strong," Kirch said. "[It should be], given they finished in the top 10 last year." Kirch believes that lane placement also had an adverse effect on the Quakers' finish. "The crew assumed that having an inside lane would guarantee them a move," Kirch said. "Instead, Georgetown moved around outside of the turn." Though freshman Kate Magee agrees the boat was not as strong as it could have been on Saturday, she was pleased with the first varsity boat's team dynamics. "I think we worked well together," Magee said. "We've been really tired this week [because of] a mixture of hard practices and getting used to being back from San Diego. We're getting used to time changes." The varsity eight rowed last weekend in the San Diego Crew Classic, where Penn came in fifth out of six crews in the Petite Final -- 11th out of 12 overall. Magee believes the boat could have raced better under different conditions. "Our hearts were in it," she said. "If we were more well-rested, I think we would have jumped better and [Georgetown] wouldn't have had a chance." Friedman agrees that the boat did not row to it's full potential. "We could have settled stronger and been more aggressive," she said. "We weren't as aggressive as we should have been. That's probably why we lost." The varsity eight was the solePenn crew to face Drexel, as the others only raced Georgetown. The Quakers' second varsity eight finished a whopping 20 seconds ahead of the Hoyas. "[The second varsity] rowed a great race," Kirch said. "They showed the depth of our program." Penn's third varsity four raced two Georgetown boats, finishing nine seconds behind the Hoya's A boat and 10 seconds ahead of their B boat. Penn's first novice boat was not happy with its loss to Georgetown. "We weren't satisfied at all with our results," freshman Ellen Tarquinio said. "We know we can [row well]. It's there but today we just weren't focused." The first novices protested the Hoyas' weaving boat. "They came into our lane several times," freshman Courtney Leonard said. "The ref called them back in their lane but they were all over the place." The Quakers will now finish their season on the road, starting with a race against Northeastern and Syracuse at Northeastern next weekend. They will then conclude their intercollegiate racing with Cornell and Rutgers on April 17 and Dartmouth and Princeton on April 24. The crews will then compete in the Eastern Sprints at New Preston, Conn. Friedman said she sees Saturday's race as an experience that helped prepare the crews for Sprints. "I think the season is going well," she said. "We're just concentrating on what will happen at Sprints because that's the most important thing."