Hwt. Crew drops gutsy race to Tigers

Although they did not bring home the Childs Cup, the members of the Penn men's heavyweight crew team returned home from Carnegie Lake optimistic after a strong performance against the Princeton Tigers. Even the rain could not put a damper on their high spirits and prevent them from enjoying the remainder of Spring Fling weekend. Saturday's race came down to the wire, with both crews fighting hard for the lead from start to finish. In the end, Princeton emerged victorious with a time of 5:44.8, with Penn a close second, clocking in at 5:45.51. Columbia and Temple placed third and fourth, respectively, neither posing a serious threat. Temple was a guest in the regatta. Penn coach Stan Bergman was very pleased with his team's performance. "Our guys did a great job and only lost by about two feet," he said. "All in all, it was a great race and came down to the last couple of strokes." The level of intensity was high right from the start. The Tigers and Quakers raced the entire course without any more than a two-seat margin. "It was thrilling to be in that competitive of a situation, and it was a kick in the balls to lose by only 7/10 of a second," Penn captain Greg Jenemann said. "Technically, it was a great race and gives the team much optimism for the rest of the season, because Princeton is always tough." After a slightly disappointing performance at the San Diego Crew Classic over April's first weekend, the Red and Blue have shown marked improvement, rowing with more confidence and cohesion and, therefore, producing greater boat speed. "We have made so much progress since the Crew Classic two weeks ago," senior Lew Goettner said. "As long as we keep it up at this level and each row up to our potential, we'll be in good shape for the Eastern Sprints." The Quakers look forward to racing the Tigers again in May after such encouraging results this weekend. "It was an incredibly competitive dogfight as the lead shifted back and forth the whole way," junior Keith Sutter said of Saturday's regatta. "It was a great race -- it showed the heart and balls of the whole team." The varsity race was by far the most exciting. The Quakers' second varsity crew finished in third place behind Princeton's second and third varsity boats, while Penn's first and second freshman crews each took second place behind the novice Tigers. The Quakers look to progress further during practice this week as they prepare to race at Columbia with the Lions and Yale this weekend. They will compete for the Blackwell Cup on the Harlem River in New York. After starting off their cup racing season on a high note, the Quakers anticipate an exciting and successful season. The No. 7 Red and Blue also hope to improve in the rankings after coming so close against the No. 4 Tigers. "Neck-and-neck tight races like these are why I love rowing," Goettner said of Saturday's exciting competition. Bergman echoed Goettner's sentiments regarding his team's results. "It was a gutsy performance by our crew," Bergman said. "I hope we will continue to improve and work hard on all levels."

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