W. Crew looks for repeat in Connell Cup

There's nothing quite like facing Yale to get the Penn women's crew team's competitive juices flowing. This Saturday, the Quakers will meet the Elis and Columbia on the strong-currented Harlem River in a contest for the Connell Cup. For the past two decades, the trophy has belonged to either the Red and Blue or Yale, but mostly the Elis, as the Quakers have captured the cup only three times in that period. This time around, however, it will be the Quakers heading into the race as the most recent Connell Cup winners. "In a sense, the rivalry is upping the competition," Penn junior Rachel Pringle said. "We want to continue the trend of beating Yale. We want it to become a tradition." Raising the stakes, the regatta is the buzz out of New Haven that the Elis have become stronger and more powerful recently, even since the fall season. "It's a huge rivalry for us. We're determined to win," Penn junior Dara Friedman said. Coming off a sweep of all five races last Saturday against Navy and Georgetown, the Quakers are looking to continue their winning ways, a streak that extends back to a victory in the Head of the Schuylkill, their last regatta of the fall season. "We're definitely going to try to ride on this momentum," Pringle said. "It'll make for a competitive edge on top of a confidence boost." The Quakers, however, refuse to let themselves become overconfident. "Everyone is excited but cautious," Friedman said. "We want to show that we're building on what we accomplished last spring and how we've improved relative to the field of competition." Possibly complicating matters are the less-than-perfect racing conditions the Harlem River will present. The river that separates the Bronx from Manhattan is known for creating navigation difficulties and unexpected surprises. "Columbia is a really rough course. There are a lot of wakes and undercurrents that make the race somewhat unpredictable," Friedman said. The main focus for the Quakers will be to continue to work on racing well as cohesive units. Practice this past week has concentrated on sprinting to the finish. "We want to focus on racing strongly and cleanly," Pringle said. "In particular, we want to focus on a well-executed sprint and just a strong race overall." Penn coach Barb Kirch was pleased with the performance of her team last Saturday and hopes that they will continue that rhythm this Saturday. "I think it showed us our conditioning level and how important the winter training was. They showed poise and a will to not give up until the finish, and they need to carry that over," Kirch said. Pringle agrees that equally important to the physical factors that go into winning races is team attitude. "We hope to maintain our professionalism and go into the race knowing that the competition is tough, but that we will race all the better for it," she said. Using their momentum and knowledge of what it takes to win, the Quakers are looking for a back-to-back win of the Connell Cup for the first time in Penn history.