Victory at last: Lwt. Crew wins race

Something was different when the Penn men's lightweight crew team took to the water this past Saturday at the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River.

The Quakers were about to win a race.

After almost two years without a victory, the lightweight's top boat placed first in the varsity race, with Penn's other boats following close behind.

"We're all really happy," Penn lightweight coach Bruce Konopka said. "All three boats had real good races."

The Quakers' top two boats both finished in the top four in the 22-team event.

"That could be the first time that ever happened," Konopka said.

"We executed exactly what we thought would happen, and we punished a few crews along the way," Penn senior captain Brian Conley said.

While the Quakers lightweights were ecstatic with their performance, the Penn heavyweights were not quite as pleased.

The men's heavyweight varsity eight finished second to Dowling College for the second consecutive year.

"We would have liked to beat Dowling," Penn senior Justin Clemow said. "It was a tough blow losing to them two years in a row."

Despite this weekend's disappointing outcome, Penn heavyweight coach Stan Bergman continues to be optimistic about his team for the upcoming spring season.

"I saw a lot of positive things." Bergman said. "I think we are moving along in the right direction."

"It wasn't our best performance," Penn senior commodore Paul Falcigno said. "It's a warmup for this weekend."

The heavyweight team will have a chance to prove itself in the Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend. This race, located on the Charles River in Boston, is one of the largest regattas in the world and includes teams of all levels, including some national teams.

"It's big," Falcigno said. "That will raise the bar of excitement."

Penn's lightweight team will not be joining the heavyweights at the Head of the Charles this weekend, but will use its experience from the Navy Day Regatta to prepare for their other races this season.

"This shows us that our training is on schedule and that we're making good progress," Konopka said. "That should enable us to move to a higher level."

Both men's crew teams will compete together at the Head of the Schuylkill on Oct. 27. They will face many of the top crews in the country, including Princeton, Yale and Georgetown.

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