W. Crew: three boats to the river

This year's Penn women's crew team has, for the first time in years, something that will give it an extra edge in competition -- three full boats.

The Quakers begin their season with the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River on Saturday.

"This is the first year we've had three eights, 24 rowers, and three coxswain," Penn coach Barb Kirch said. "That makes us a lot more competitive naturally. That will make us better, too."

Senior captain Kate McGee agreed that three full boats will be an important advantage.

"It's better to have too many people to put in boats than to not have enough," she said. "It's better racing in practice with three different boats competitively."

The Quakers lost nine seniors to graduation last year, but they do not expect this to harm them. With the addition of three transfer students -- two of whom came from the Rochester Institute of Technology -- and a group of sophomores who were on the novice squad last year, the team has more depth than ever and hopes to make its best run in years.

The addition of junior Kristen Mauks -- one of the R.I.T. transfers -- and freshman Megan Wellington should help the Quakers.

Wellington will join the varsity team immediately, unlike most freshmen who start on the novice squad.

"Kristen Mauks, as far as our scores [on the erg machine], she's proved to be amazing. And as far as moving boats in pairs, the results have been great for her," McGee said. "Megan Wellington, she just brings a lot of good techniques. She'll be a great contributor to the varsity."

The one fall competition the Quakers are keeping an eye on is their November trip to Seattle, when they will compete against Washington, the defending national champions.

The Quakers hope they can learn from competing against the top team in the nation in the fall season and use the experience to help them in the spring, when their Ivy League races are held.

"They're just an excellent squad," McGee said of the Huskies. "I'm looking to learn from them, and of course we're going to give it our best shot at beating them."

Perhaps the experience in Washington will help the Red and Blue finally defeat Princeton in the Award Plaque in the spring. The Tigers have won that competition nine years in a row.

"I'd say we have the best chance we've had yet [to beat Princeton]," Kirch said.

The team has enjoyed recent improvement, having posted a 6-4 record in cup races the past two years after posting just three wins in each of the three previous seasons.

"I think it has a lot to do with Barb's coaching," McGee said. "It takes time to make a difference when you come into a program that wasn't doing so well before she came here. The turnaround is just higher commitment."

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