The heavyweight men's crew team's first race of the season on Saturday was a chance for the Quakers to test their endurance and hone technique. Unfortunately, they got an unexpected addition to their training -- adapting to a mid-race collision.
All of the boats performed relatively well, with the varsity placing fourth, the junior varsity placing third and the fours coming in second and fifth in their races.
While a good coxswain can save a crew by knowing the turns on his home course, the varsity crew fell victim to steering difficulties. The boat probably would have come in third instead of fourth if they had not crashed into a novice women's boat coming around the last turn at the Girard Bridge on the Schuylkill River.
The collision was near the end of the race just as the boat was beginning its final sprint. Faced with the choice of colliding with Saint Joseph's or the women, the safer option was the latter, because it was the slower-moving boat.
Because Navy Day is a series of head races -- staggered consecutive races -- in all different events, the boat they collided with was a particularly slow boat from an earlier race.
The collision did not greatly affect the outcome of the race but rather gave the Red and Blue a chance to demonstrate their composure in an adverse situation.
"We hit the boat, but once we were clear, we got it back," junior and varsity stroke James Lederman said. "We got back in rhythm and walked past St. Joe's."
Perhaps the crew was able to get back momentum so easily because the race had been going well prior to the collision.
"We were able to row at a 34, moving effectively," Lederman said. "That was a higher rate than we expected to hold."
Lederman attributes this higher rating to a strong performance by everyone in the boat.
"We were able to get a good rhythm," he said. "My stroke is long, but everyone was backing me up with aggressiveness on the drive. We carried over what the coaches were trying to emphasize -- rhythm of the stroke, getting off the front end. People were really thinking about that stuff."
Thinking about those technical aspects is the aim of the fall season, since it is essentially preparation for the official spring season.
"We have to keep realizing it's a 10-month process," Penn coach Stan Bergman said. "We've only been on the water for three weeks. We need to build and get better."
Bergman tries to make each race a learning experience for each individual athlete.
"I have the guys evaluate how they perform and individualize personal training," he said.
And the Quakers spend plenty of time thinking about ways to improve.
"We can always row a lot cleaner and be a lot more efficient," junior John Linnehan said.
The training will continue next week at the Head of the Charles race in Boston, where the heavyweights will hopefully have the chance to improve upon their unusually disappointing results from last year's regatta.
