W. Crew faces tough foes in quest for Orange Cup

Northeastern, which finished in fourth place at the NCAAs in 1998, hosts Penn and Syracuse. The Penn women's crew varsity eight is determined to improve on last weekend's performance -- in which the Quakers came in two seconds behind Georgetown and seven seconds ahead of Drexel -- as they prepare for a showdown with Northeastern and Syracuse at Northeastern this weekend. "Last week's races motivated all of our crews," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. Penn's second varsity eight overpowered Georgetown last Saturday, beating the Hoyas to the finish line by a full 20 seconds. "The second varsity boat had a great race and that builds their confidence, [but] they know these teams will be stronger," Kirch said. The Quakers' varsity four -- which lost to Georgetown's A four but beat the Hoyas' B four by 10 seconds -- and novice fours, which both outrowed the Georgetown novice four by several boatlengths, are excited at the prospects for the weekend. "This weekend should go well," said Robin Powals, who rowed in the first novice four last week. "We haven't been doing that great, but we're progressing." The Quakers will race on the Charles River for the Orange Cup this Saturday. Both Northeastern and Syracuse should prove worthy foes. Last year, Northeastern went undefeated in the regular season. The Huskies varsity eight placed third at the Eastern Sprints and took an impressive fourth-place finish in the NCAAs. Northeastern also won the Orange Cup last year, outrowing Penn by nearly 15 seconds. Some Huskies have competed overseas, and the boat includes three rowers who weigh at least 180 lbs. Syracuse also boasts an impressive lineup. Senior rower Katie Modolo's resume includes rowing in England's Henley Regatta, while freshman Libby Graves placed seventh at the Junior World Championships in the pair event. The Orangewomen's varsity eight beat both Cornell and Yale last weekend, coming in a boat length before Cornell and 10 seconds before Yale. Last year, Penn's varsity eight raced Syracuse in two consecutive races. After losing to the Orangewomen by two seconds in the San Diego Crew Classic, the Quakers took revenge and beat them by a slim 1.06 seconds. "We expect [this weekend] to be the toughest race so far, with the exception of San Diego," Kirch said. The Quakers varsity believes its lack of aggression and Georgetown's fast start caused Penn trouble last week. "We rowed our race plan instead of racing the race," Kirch said. "This weekend we want to challenge them from the beginning and press the field the whole way." Freshman Kate Magee believes last week's loss fired up the Quakers for Saturday. "Last weekend's race made us more determined," she said. "We just stayed next to the other crew. This weekend we're going to make our move and be more aggressive about it." Due to asthma, junior Rachel Jolley -- Penn's varsity eight stroke -- will not be competing for the rest of the season. Joining the boat will be second varsity's junior Maggie Klarberg. The Quakers, however, don't believe they will have trouble adjusting to the lineup changes. "Since we all worked together so much earlier in the season, mixing people with boats, we all have the same technique," Magee said. "We're sad that Rachel won't be with us but putting Maggie in the boat shouldn't hurt us." Sophomore Catherine Eikel, coxswain for Penn's varsity eight, competed with Klarberg in the NCAAs last year as a member of the Quakers varsity four. "Maggie was in the varsity boat last year," Eikel said. "She'll be a great asset to the boat." While the Quakers face some tough competition this weekend, they take a positive outlook with them to Boston. "We've been trying different things [in practice this week]. It's been hectic in a good way," Eikel said. "Everyone has been dedicated to making the lineup as fast as it can be."