A lot is going on during a typical spring weekend along Kelly Drive. Runners and cyclists speed up and down the river walk next to the bustle of commuters in and out of Center City. You can hear the sounds of families with children and dogs playing in the grass along the riverbank. The monolithic Philadelphia Museum of Art towers over all the pedestrians who walk around it.
Of course, the scenery wouldn’t be complete without the historic boathouse row. Teams of rowers glide through the Schuylkill River in synchrony as spectators watch on, temporarily entranced by the beauty and speed at which the crews move.
Kelly Drive’s spring scenery this past Saturday was diminished a bit by gray clouds and intermittent patches of rain. This would make winning the Adams Cup more complicated for Penn heavyweight rowing in their final competitive race on the Schuylkill this season.
“We actually changed the schedule a bit to try to give the first varsities a bit better water conditions,” coach Al Monte said. “It just so happened that a small rain squall came through during the top races. Still, conditions were manageable. There was a cross tailwind, flat water, a little bit of rain for the varsity races, but overall, nothing these guys can’t handle.”
The Quakers hosted Harvard and Navy in front of their own boathouse, on their “home water.” The Crimson once again proved its dominance in the Ivy League, winning the first through third varsity boat races. Penn trailed in each of those events, but managed to win the fourth and fifth varsity regattas.
“I was really impressed with the lower boats,” Monte said. “The fourth and fifth varsities had a tough week of practice. We had to work through some lineup shifts, and they were able to take it in stride and bounce back with solid performances and win today. I’m really happy for those guys. I think everyone left it out there. Harvard’s a good boat. To be within a boat length of them in the first varsity race at this stage in the game is a positive step forward for us.”
The Red and Blue’s top boat looked identical across both the Blackwell and Adams Cups over the past two weeks. The medley of underclassmen and upperclassmen has a unique combination of youth and experience. The boat consists of three seniors, three freshmen, one junior, and a sophomore. They are looking to continue gelling together ahead of the Eastern Sprints and Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships.
“The freshmen have been really impressive,” George Rodgers, one of the seniors in the top boat, said. “We’ve come a long way since I was a freshman. The caliber of guys coming in these past couple of years, especially this year, has really helped us improve.”
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The Quakers have been chasing Harvard for the past few years, with the Crimson getting the best of them more often than not. Penn keeps looking to push into the top tier of rowing programs.
“They are a marker that we can use to compare ourselves,” Monte said. “Those guys are performing at a pretty high level. Whenever we can get close or get in front of them, it's meaningful. But ultimately there’s no defense in rowing. We just have to keep getting our guys better.”
And gotten better they have. In his fourth year with the program, Monte has witnessed measurable strides forward. The difference between his first Adams Cup as Penn’s coach and the one this past weekend is noticeable; the Quakers have tightened the gap to Harvard.
“It was just a really cool juxtaposition for me,” Monte said. “We weren’t all that competitive in 2023, so to go out and win some races today was meaningful. It’s all about progress over time."
The rowing season is one of the few sports that aligns closely with the “academic season.” The Eastern Sprints and National Championships follow Penn’s finals period. Rowers need to balance coursework and final exams with preparation for biggest athletic test they face all year. The IRAs are, in every sense of the metaphor, a rower’s final exam.
“In these races in April, you’re expected to be a bit tired,” Rodgers said. “We are in the process of building fitness for the sprints and the IRAs. Once we’re done with these races after next week, we really focus on peaking performance.”
Penn will travel to Ithaca, N.Y. next weekend to take on Holy Cross before competing against Cornell in the Madeira Cup. The Quakers will then rest until Eastern Sprints on graduation weekend before heading to California for the IRAs at the end of May.
