Lwt. Crew looks to improve

The Penn lightweight crew team will need a strong performance this weekend as they go up against daunting opponents Harvard and Cornell.

This race will determine who takes home the highly-prized Matthews and Leonard Cups.

The Leonard Cup goes to the winner of Penn and Cornell in a best two out of three in the top races -- the first and second varsity eights and the first freshman eight.

The Matthews Cup is given to the varsity eight winner of the tri-meet. The Quakers have not won the Cup since 1987, so they look toward this race with hopes of improvement.

"Our goal is first place," Penn senior Matt Courtin said. "We can't set our goals any less."

One advantage the Quakers have is that they are already well into their season. This race will be the Red and Blue's third of the year, but it is only the first race for Harvard and Cornell.

The Quakers have already competed against Princeton and Rutgers, and although the varsity boats were not able to bring in a win, they fared much better compared to years' past -- paving the way for some new-found confidence.

The entirety of the freshman boats also added to the team morale by bringing in consecutive victories against the Tigers and the Scarlet Knights.

Perhaps this reassurance of ability paired with the up-and-coming novice boats will be enough to bring in a second or possibly even first place finish.

The problem, however, is that they were in the exact same place last year that they are now in many ways.

"Last year, our first race was a close call, so we thought 'we are right there we can hang with them," Courtin said. "We were so excited that that we were serious competition that we lost the incentive to go harder."

"We just stayed there while every other team really took off." Winning this race would also mean the first spring season win for the lightweight Quakers in a long time after a winless 2001 spring season. In the fall, the Quakers won their first race in almost two years at the Navy Day Regatta.

This extra motivation to prove themselves might be just what the Red and Blue need to get their momentum going.

"We all have a big desire to get turned around," Courtin said.

A win will not be easy. Harvard has been a league power since 1946 -- earning All Time Eastern Sprints titles a startling 65 years in a row.

Cornell has also always offered some tough competition for its fellow Ivy opponents. This race will surely prove to be an immense challenge for the Quakers, but many members do have an extra year of experience under their oars.

"We can do well but we have to apply what we know," Courtin said. "And we have to have confidence and not pay attention to the other teams."

It is undeniable that a first or second place finish in this race would mean a tremendous amount to the Quakers, especially for the seniors who want to finish their careers on a high note.

"Close isn't enough," Courtin said. "That's what we did last year. This year we are here to win."

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