This weekend, the Penn heavyweight crew team defeated Yale in a closely contested match to claim the Blackwell Cup.
Capturing the Blackwell Cup could be the turning point of the
season for the Red and Blue.
After coming off disappointing losses to crew powerhouses Harvard and Princeton, the Quakers have proved they are a team to be reckoned with as Eastern Sprints approach.
The race was a barn-burner, as Penn squeeked by the Elis by seven tenths of a second. The first varsity boat finished with a time of 5:46.2, as Yale came in with a 5.46.9 time.
The second varsity boat also took first. The third varsity boats and both freshman boats placed second.
The losses to Harvard, Princeton, and even Navy proved to the Quakers just how difficult the Eastern seaboard competition can be.
Coach Bergmann has emphasized that one of the main goals of the squad is to simply get faster. One way to improve and enhance speed is to focus on the more technical aspects of the race.
The extra emphasis on blade work and catch timing by the Quakers helped them pull through against a tight Yale crew and win their fourth-straight Blackwell Cup.
With the spring season winding to a close, the EARC Sprints and the IRA Championships are rapidly approaching.
After a two week layoff, the Penn heavyweight crew team will return to action at the Schuylkill River for the Burk Cup against Northeastern on May 12th. The Quakers are coming off their first cup win and are striving for their peak.
Penn will do battle against Northeastern in one of the last two duals of the season. Northeastern will be no easy task, giving the Quakers some solid preparation before the post-season.
Northeastern is currently fourth in the US Rowing national rankings and has just come off a win against Boston University.
The Quakers will have to put their hard work to use in order to capture another cup against Northeastern and prepare themselves for the important EARC Sprints.
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