With more rowers, Lwt. Crew to launch

The Penn men's lightweight crew team will open its season against Rutgers this weekend on the Raritan River in New Jersey. Although Rutgers is ranked highly in preseason polls, the Quakers, who have grown in both numbers and strength this year, expect a strong and competitive performance. Penn lightweight coach Bruce Konopka is pleased with his crew's progress. "We have trained hard and have increased the team's aerobic base with much success," Konopka said. "Our practices have been well attended and highly productive." With a team of 25, this is Konopka's largest crew since his arrival at Penn. "This year, we have enough rowers to fill three full eights, which increases competition for the top seats in the varsity boat," Konopka said. "I credit the sophomores especially for returning after their novice year." Penn captain Ben Goldman shares Konopka's optimism. "With three eights, team competition is tighter, making our entire varsity program much faster," Goldman said. "I think we will be showing some speed this weekend that Rutgers won't be expecting." Penn commodore Mike Smolenski has even more confidence in the Quakers' ability. "We are expecting to sweep all the races from the varsity on down to the freshmen," Smolenski said. "We are definitely mentally and physically ready to race, and we are patiently waiting to show how the training has helped us." Although the Scarlet Knights have already established themselves as a strong crew, the Quakers are ready for the challenge. "Based on what I have seen from them last spring and this fall, they are going to be very fast," Goldman said. "However, we are coming out of a solid winter of training, and our team is faster and deeper than I have ever seen it." The Penn lightweights anticipate they will have success this season beginning this weekend in New Jersey and culminating with the Eastern Sprints. "No matter what the results of this first race are, we are focused on the goal of winning Eastern Sprints, and our training reflects this goal," junior varsity rower Matt Morano said. Konopka is eager for the season to begin and looks forward to a good year. "After months of training, the crew is in its best shape ever and prepared for a season of tough racing," Konopka said.

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