Penn finishes eighth overall, ends year strong

Heading into last Sunday's Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Coaches (EAWRC) Sprints, Penn women's crew coach Barb Kirch hit upon the idea to combine her freshman squad with the two varsity eight boats entered in the competition.

Her idea paid off.

Penn's Varsity Eights finished eighth out of a field of 17 teams, highlighting a day of success for the Red and Blue on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

"It was a huge day of success," Kirch said. "We went in ranked 11th, and finished eighth, so we had a very good finals."

The Varsity Eight boat finished fourth in its beginning heat with a time of 7:07.55, before going on to finish second in the Petite Final in 7:07.25. The second place finish allowed the Quakers to capture eighth overall among varsity eight boats.

Kirch attributed Penn's success to the strong positions of leadership that her graduating seniors assumed in the final race of their careers.

"We had a very instrumental decision when one of the co-captains [Sarah-Jane Irwin] moved into the stroke seat right before the last race," Kirch said.

Co-captains Irwin and Sarah Stevenson gave the mixed boat some added experience that propelled them through the race.

Penn's second Varsity Eight boat also finished second in its Petite final with a time of 7:27.80. That finish allowed the second Varsity Eight to take eighth overall as well.

Radcliffe won the Sprints Championship by placing first in the Grand Final in 6:42.80.

The Quakers' Varsity Four boats also competed at the EAWRC Sprints against some of the nation's premier teams.

The first Varsity Four boat finished second in its heat in 8:14.81, beating traditional rivals Cornell, Northeastern, and Rutgers, while the second four finished third in its heat in 8:29.57.

Both boats qualified for the Grand Finals, in which the "A" and "B" boats finished fifth and sixth respectively.

"The Varsity Four races were really special," Kirch said. "It was the first year since I got back that we had two boats in the finals."

Despite Penn's successful finish at the EAWRCs, the team did not qualify for an at-large bid to the 2003 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships, which are held at the end of May. The team completed the spring season with one first-place finish, three second-place finishes and one third-place finish.

While the team will lose five seniors, they look with optimism toward next season based upon their strong novice team and incoming class heading into next season.

"Overall it was a pretty successful year," Kirch said. "We are very excited about our new recruits and I think they will be a strong addition to the program."

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