As torrents of rain came pouring down last weekend, Penn men's lightweight crew team opened its fall season last Saturday at the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River.
The Quakers sent two even eight varsity boats and two freshman boats to compete in the event. Joining the Red and Blue in the race were teams from St. Joseph, Delaware, Lehigh and Navy.
"Almost all the teams rowed even crews to get some good match racing," Penn lightweight coach Mike Irwin said.
Unfortunately, the Quakers were not able to duplicate last year's winning performance in the event. The varsity A boat placed sixth with a time of 12:56, with the varsity B boat coming in one second behind them to finish seventh.
Navy A won the Regatta with a time of 12:26, two seconds ahead of second-place Delaware.
The meet also marked the debut of a new coaching staff for the lightweight squad. Irwin, along with freshman coach John Fife, joined the program this year after the retirement of 11-year coach Bruce Konopka.
Despite the disappointing finish, the Quakers were able to get a feel for their competition and prepare for the bigger races in the fall season.
"We saw some good spots and spots we need to work on," Irwin said. "But overall we used [the Regatta] as a barometer for the future."
Some of the rowers echoed the coach's sentiments concerning the opening fall races as a springboard for the rest of the season.
"The Regatta was a good opportunity to see where we stand and improve for next week's race," Penn commodore Justin Arena said.
The freshman boats placed 11th and 12th in their 20-boat event, with times of 13:51 and 13:55.
While expectations for this year's freshman team are high -- last year's team earned five victories during the spring season -- the oarsmen were pleased with last weekend's performance.
"We've got our momentum going as a program, and this is our chance to take it to the next level," Penn freshman Alan Blank said.
Next week the Quakers will send its top eight varsity rowers to the Head of the Charles in Boston. There, Penn's varsity eight will compete against all 11 schools in its division, including Harvard, Yale and Georgetown.
