W. Crew beats U.S. - oar not

On its way to beating the United States National Team, the Penn women's crew varsity four boat was flying toward the finish line at an incredible speed.

Then the Quakers were halted by the abrupt smash of an oar.

As the Red and Blue went under a bridge on Boston's Charles River on Sunday, their oars crashed into those of another team competing in the Head of the Charles Regatta.

The collision resulted in a one-minute penalty and a severe drop in the standings for the Quakers, who did not know about the penalty until after they had crossed the finish line in second place and far ahead of all their expectations.

The German National Team was the only boat to cruise down the Charles faster than the Red and Blue.

"It was pretty exciting beating the U.S. National Team," Penn freshman Megan Wellington said. "We hadn't even considered that before the race."

The team's happiness was short-lived, however, when they realized the penalty had been assessed.

Penn's second-place finish had quickly become a disheartening 17th.

"I felt like we rowed a really strong race and we are very proud of our time," junior Sarah-Jane Irwin said. "It's very unfortunate the collision under the bridge cost us our time, but in our minds, we still beat the other teams."

Though Penn coach Barb Kirch is attempting to protest the penalty, it will most likely stand.

Despite the disappointment of the race, the Quakers were still excited to get the opportunity to compete at the Head of the Charles, the largest two-day head race in the country.

"It's always awesome to go to the Head of the Charles," Wellington said.

"It's incredibly exciting," Irwin said. "We knew we were a fast boat, and it's really exciting for the spring season."

The men's heavyweight team had a less successful race on Sunday.

Penn raced in the championship eight event and placed 20th out of 40 boats. The Quakers finished behind the national teams, and some of the tougher Ivies, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Brown.

"Overall, it was somewhat disappointing," Penn captain Mike Parker said. "I don't think we attacked it with the amount of aggression we needed. It's the only race in the fall that we see the competitors we see in the spring."

The Quakers will learn from their experience and use it in future races.

"We will try to take the positive out of it," Parker said, "and try to fix the negative for this weekend."

This Saturday the Penn men's heavyweights and the women will stay home, joining the men's lightweights and freshman teams at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.

The Quakers will be racing teams from around the region, including Princeton, Syracuse, Boston University and Georgetown.

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