W. Crew pleased with finish against Tigers and Big Green

The Penn women's crew varsity eight headed to Hanover, N.H., on Saturday hoping to end its last cup race of the season with a stronger performance than its April 17 loss to Cornell and Rutgers. And although Saturday's competitors -- Princeton and Dartmouth -- edged Penn by six seconds and one second, respectively, the Quakers were pleased with their rowing. Princeton, whose varsity eight is currently ranked third in the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges Coaches Poll, was expected to pose an especially tough challenge. The Quakers, however, did their best to meet that challenge, finishing closer to the Tigers on Saturday than any Penn crew had since 1993. "To be within six seconds shows phenomenal improvement," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. At Cornell, the members of the varsity eight attributed their loss to a lack of boat unity. As a result, Kirch believes the boat's loss to Cornell and Rutgers fired up the Quakers for Saturday's race at Dartmouth. "They got a wake-up call [at Cornell] and realized that it was in their best interest to work together," Kirch said. Senior Lauri Kauffman, the six-seat for the varsity eight, believes that the race was definitely one of the boat's best of the season. "We rowed with composure, confidence, with a feeling I haven't felt for a while this season," Kauffman said. "It was a good feeling to be a part of the boat and what happened this weekend." While Kauffman was pleased with her crew's race, it was actually Penn's second varsity eight which had the best day on the Connecticut River. The second varsity eight, which entered the race with just one loss this season, finished only a boatlength behind the Tigers while beating the Big Green by nearly 10 seconds. The Quakers' third varsity four boat, however, was not as competitive in its race. Penn finished 34 seconds behind Princeton and nearly four boatlengths behind Dartmouth. Likewise, Penn's novice eight boat completed the race nearly 35 seconds after Princeton and 33 seconds behind Dartmouth. Kirch acknowledges that while the novice boats may not have had an entirely successful season in terms of wins, their collegiate rowing careers are just beginning. "The whole season has been a learning experience for [the novices]," Kirch said. "Each week they learned more about racing." Saturday marked the Penn crews last competition before Eastern Sprints, which will be held in New Preston, Conn., on May 16. Eighteen schools will be racing in morning heats and finals will be held in the afternoon. Crews from the Ivy League will be joined by Georgetown, the University of Wisconsin and the other non-Ivies comprising the EAWRC. "[Last weekend's races] helped everyone's confidence," Kirch said. "Our crews are going to be showing up ready to race and see how far up the ladder they can climb. They now realize the power of how they think, the power of their thought process. When they're confident, they race very well." Kirch also notes overall improvement in this year's crew. "It's a big step up from last year," she said. "It hasn't been easy but I've been proud of the effort the whole team put in."