The stormy weather this weekend changed the times and locations of collegiate crew events all over the East Coast because of unsafe rowing conditions.
However, Penn's heavyweight rowing team stuck to its schedule. The Quakers traveled to California and were welcomed by 70-degree weather at the San Diego Crew Classic on Saturday.
"The weather was outstanding," Penn coach Stan Bergman said. "The guys enjoyed the weather; it was a great morale booster."
Other than soaking up warm weather, the Quakers competed against some of the top crew programs in the nation.
The Quakers' varsity boat finished fifth in the grand final of the Copley Cup.
Varsity rowers James Paci, Stuart Harty, Kevin White, Larkin Williams, Nate Fox, Nate Allen, P.J. Chryssostomides, Andrew Dumont and Terrence Massey recorded a time of 5:53.49. UC Berkeley won the cup with a time of 5:43.7.
"We had the chance to race twice, which is good for the team," Bergman said.
The Red and Blue earned the last spot in the final on Sunday after finishing third in their heat on Saturday with a time of 6:10.70 behind Stanford and California.
"We are improving as far as racing ability," Bergman said. "Each race makes us better."
The JV boat finished fourth in 6:08.47, behind two Cal boats and Northeastern.
The Quakers will host Princeton and Columbia in the Childs Cup next Saturday on the Schuylkill River.
