W. Crew looking to excel at last event before the Eastern Sprints

The Quakers head to Dartmouth to compete for the Award Plaque. The members of the Penn women's crew team know they have a lot of potential. While the Quakers' real ability might not have come across in their last few races, the rowers are determined to prove themselves when they race Dartmouth and Princeton this weekend. This Saturday is the Quakers' last race before the Eastern Sprints -- the championship event for the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges -- in New Preston, Conn., on May 16. "I want to be able to say that every boat rowed their best race of the season," Penn coach Barb Kirch said of the upcoming weekend. Dartmouth will host the race for the Award Plaque this Saturday on the Connecticut River. Last weekend, Penn's varsity eight came in just 10 seconds behind Cornell and five seconds after Rutgers in a race for the Raritan Cup at Cornell. On April 10, the Quakers varsity eight turned in a similar third-place finish, coming in 9 1/2 seconds after Northeastern and a boatlength behind Syracuse. Princeton, currently ranked third in the EAWRC Coaches Poll, has dominated its competition this year. The Tigers took first place in Villanova's Camden Invitational on April 11, finishing nearly three boatlengths ahead of the Wildcats. Last weekend, Princeton's varsity eight outrowed the University of Wisconsin by 10 seconds. In last year's Award Plaque, both the Tigers first and second varsity eights won their respective races, finishing 20 seconds ahead of the Quakers in both races. Dartmouth's crews pose less of a threat to the Quakers. The Big Green varsity eight is currently ranked ninth in the EAWRC while their second varsity is ranked 12th. Last weekend, Radcliffe dominated the Big Green, winning four of the day's six races; Dartmouth's varsity eight finished nearly 10 seconds behind Radcliffe. On April 10, the varsity eight edged Yale by a boatlength but still fell 10 seconds short of Boston University. The Quakers know they have the strength to win on Saturday. But sophomore Deb Kay, currently the coxswain for the varsity eight, believes the boat's disappointing results have weakened the team's confidence. "This is a really terrific boat," she said. "Lately we haven't raced to our full potential. There's been a lot of pressure. We want to take the pressure [off ]winning and losing and focus on rowing the best possible race we can." Penn's second varsity boat, which is currently ranked eighth in the EAWRC's Coaches Poll, was undefeated until losing to Cornell by 5 seconds last weekend. Sophomore Becky Riley, who rows for the second varsity eight, attributes her boat's successful season to the rowers' attitudes. "We have a really positive spirit," she said. "Everyone in the boat is really competitive." This weekend the second varsity eight will welcome the return of regulars Kate Ewall, a sophomore, and Loren Berman, a junior, both of whom were unable to compete last week in Penn's loss. "[Second varsity] has proved itself to be very adaptable," Riley said. "Last week didn't put any damper on us at all." Riley says that this week's practices have been valuable. The Quakers crews have not only been working consistently on their start -- as they feel they have been strong from the start all season -- but in maintaining that speed throughout the whole race. Kay acknowledges the importance of this weekend as the crew's final competitive preparation before Sprints, the most important race of the season. "Our goal is to row the best we can and to leave with a really good feeling to launch us into the next two weeks," Kay said. The Quakers know they can be a talented crew. Their confidence and aggression will play significant roles in this weekend's outcome. "There's a lot of fire and a lot of drive in [the varsity eight] boat," Kay said. "We just want to focus that energy into rowing the best possible race we can row."