W. Crew welcomes challenge from Drexel and Georgetown

The Penn women's crew team hopes to keep up its Schuylkill River success when the Quakers race Georgetown and Drexel this weekend. On March 20, Penn's first varsity eight beat Yale, Columbia and Navy on the Schuylkill. Last weekend, the varsity eight came in fifth out of six schools in the petite final -- or 11th out of 12 overall -- of the San Diego Crew Classic. Although the members of the varsity eight generally felt confident about their performance in San Diego, they were not satisfied with their 11th-place finish. With four more races remaining before Eastern Sprints, the team still has time left to prove itself. "The varsity eight is more determined than ever to race hard," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. "They see how some of the top schools in the country are doing." Last week's races -- while the varsity was in San Diego, the rest of the Quakers rowed against Yale and Columbia at Yale -- helped the Quakers realize what they have to work on to stay competitive with the top crews in the country. "We're physically smaller than a lot of crews," sophomore Dara Friedman said. "We have to work on keeping up our technique and fitness level. To do well we have to maintain technique through the whole race." Co-captain Heather Roehrs believes the Crew Classic inspired the Quakers to push themselves more. "San Diego was a reality check," Roehrs said. "It was an invaluable learning experience and it motivated us to work that much harder." At New Haven, the second varsity eight, the varsity four and the novices all finished either first or second as Penn secured the points trophy. "It was a matter of winning," said sophomore Shyra Cooper, who raced in the four. "Now that we did, we have a lot more confidence." While this weekend will mark the Quakers' third week of competition, the race will be a season opener for both Drexel and Georgetown. The Hoyas are ranked No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic region for the second year in a row. Last year, Georgetown received an at-large bid to the NCAAs. "Georgetown was in the petite sprint finals last year," Kirch said. "If we beat them it's a significant step forward for the program." The Dragons, who will only race Penn's varsity eight boat this weekend, placed 10th in last year's IRAs. "We have respect [for both schools]," Kirch said. "We intend to race to win." The Quakers' past successes against these schools gives them confidence for this weekend. "We raced Georgetown in the fall at the Princeton Chase and we had a significant margin over them," Friedman said. "Hopefully we'll do it again." While Penn's varsity eight has never raced Drexel before, the top four Quakers rowers faced a Drexel four in their drive to qualify for the NCAAs last year. Penn's varsity four beat the Dragons by 11 seconds. "Penn is usually the powerhouse of crew in Philadelphia," Roehrs said. The Quakers have been hard at work with several early morning practices on the Schuylkill and weight lifting every week. "We have a really good rhythm," Cooper said. "We just got a new stroke and we've adjusted well. We've been concentrating a lot on finishes and creating a more solid base pace." Cooper said she feels confident about this weekend. "I think we'll keep doing well," she said. "Especially since it's our last home race." For the Quakers' next three races, they will travel to Northeastern, Cornell and Dartmouth. They then have three weeks without competition before heading to the Eastern Sprints on May 16. The Quakers realize the importance teamwork will play in the stretch. "There has been a real sense of unity in the whole program, which is why we've been getting better," Friedman said. "We just want to improve and get faster," Roehrs said. "We try to do that each time we race. We try to step it up a notch every time we go out and row."