Hwt. crew falls to No. 10 Northeastern

The Penn heavyweight crew team was literally blown away at the Burk Cup last Saturday on the Charles River in Boston, Mass.

Fighting the No. 10 Northeastern crew and a fierce 15 miles per hour tailwind that blew against the river's normal current, the No. 16 Quakers fell to the Huskies by more than nine seconds, completing the course in 5:53.5 to the home team's 5:44.7.

"Northeastern's a real good crew so you've got to give them credit," Penn coach Stan Bergman said.

The Huskies recorded the third-fastest time overall in the preliminary heats at EARC Sprints on May 11 but failed to qualify for the Grand Final as the only two faster crews, Harvard and Brown, were also in their heat.

"They had bad luck," Bergman said.

Bergman chided the Red and Blue for their inability to cope with the choppy waters.

"We have to be able to handle conditions better," he said, calling the weather "just an excuse" for the team's performance.

"We've been rowing for nine months, a lot of these guys for eight years, we ought to be able to handle these conditions."

Bergman also noted the Charles' similarity to the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, where Penn is based.

Bergman said that the Quakers "are capable of competing with [Northeastern]," but conceded that "when you get beat by nine seconds, you aren't competitive."

On Commencement weekend, Bergman sent an encouraging message to his departing seniors.

"They've done a good job with leadership," he said. "They only have two chances to get some satisfaction that we are going faster left in their Penn careers."

The first of those two chances comes this weekend, as the Red and Blue compete in the Madiera Cup, at which they will race Cornell on the Schuylkill River. It is Penn's only regatta of the season on its home waters. It is a race steeped in history, having been presented by the Friends of Pennsylvania Rowing every year since 1956. The cup is named after Crawford Madiera, the first president of the organization.

"[Madiera was] very supportive of crews throughout his career," Bergman said. "And his wife was very supportive after he passed away."

Penn has dominated the race in recent years but Cornell won in 2002. Returning the cup to Philadelphia is "something that we want to go after," Bergman said.

Bergman dismissed any advantage that would come from not having to travel for the weekend.

"The traveling is good at times," he said. "You room together, get a hotel together, it is sometimes better that way."

"The Schuylkill is still 2000 meters so that doesn't matter."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.