Lwt. Crew headed to Maryland for Callow Cup

The pressure is on for the Penn lightweight crew team as it heads down to Annapolis, Md., on Saturday to race Navy and Georgetown for its last race of the regular season -- the Callow Cup.

Approaching Eastern Sprints, each team Penn is racing is getting faster and, as a result, the intensity of each race is increasing.

"The challenge [level] of our opponents is once again very high," Penn coach Mike Irwin said.

Navy was ranked third by the most recent U.S. Rowing coaches poll, while Georgetown is ranked sixth. Both teams should give ninth-ranked Penn a competitive race.

Last weekend, Navy upset Harvard, which was ranked first at the time but has since moved down to fourth following the defeat.

Georgetown, on the other hand, has not raced in two weeks.

"Georgetown is a bit of an unknown," Irwin said. "No one has seen in them the last two weeks, but they were very fast at the beginning of the year."

The Quakers have faced tough competition since the beginning of the season -- and this weekend should really be no different.

Penn's focus continues to be on weekly improvement.

"We're gaining momentum as each week progresses," Irwin said.

Even with the momentum they have gained thus far -- especially after narrowly losing to No. 2 Princeton last weekend -- the Quakers realize that there is still plenty of work to be done.

"We know that we will have to continue our improvement because of how highly competitive all of the boats in our conference are," junior Jonathan Macknin said.

Now is the time when the Quakers will need to improve the poor starts that have been troubling them all season.

"We had a good finishing 1,500 meters" last weekend, Irwin said. "Now we have to put the whole 2,000 meters together."

And with the end of the season quickly approaching, Penn is eagerly anticipating this weekend's competition.

"I'm pretty excited for the race this weekend because it gives us another chance to see where we've found more speed," Macknin said. "And I know that Navy and Georgetown will be pushing us the whole way down the course."

Despite the challenge that Navy and Georgetown pose to the Red and Blue, Eastern Sprints and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships are right around the corner and are on the forefront of the Quakers' minds.

"Our season has been one of constant improvement and we hope to continue to build the strength of our team into the Sprints Championships and IRAs," Macknin said.

With the final chance to prove how much they have improved only a few weeks away, the Quakers are buckling down for the final stretch of the season.

"There is a definitely a quiet determination to the crew," Irwin said. "They know they're getting better and their best and fastest race is still in front of them."

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