Lightweight Crew takes 14th in Boston

A new example was set last weekend as the Penn men's lightweight crew team competed in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta for the first time in three years.

"It was definitely one of the more exciting races," Penn senior oarsmen Dan Thistle said.

The Quakers placed 14th out of 25 boats in the lightweight eight sprints, finishing with a time of 16:04.

The varsity eight got its first look at all 11 teams in its league at the Regatta, including Yale, Princeton and Georgetown. The Red and Blue also competed against National Teams from the United States and Germany.

The New York Athletic Club won the event with a time of 15:16, while a boat from the Charles River Racing Association finished six seconds behind them.

While the Quakers knew they were going up against some of the best teams in the world, they did not enter the race without a few goals in mind. Two of these objectives -- to have a good race and to pass Rutgers -- were accomplished.

Unfortunately, the Quakers failed to finish within five percent of the winning time and did not qualify for next year's Head of the Charles. The varsity boat missed the cutoff by just two seconds.

"We spent at least 10 seconds crashing blades with another boat, which cost us some time," Penn captain Tevis Jacobs said. "Overall, however, we had a pretty good race."

The Red and Blue were able to finish ahead of MIT and were just seconds behind rivals Princeton and Georgetown.

The varsity eight will look to improve its time and position next Sunday at the Princeton Chase in Princeton, N.J.

The lightweight squad also received public acknowledgement at the Head of the Charles for their protest against the mandatory seven week rest period between the fall and spring seasons.

The Quakers, along with all the other Ivy teams, wore black shirts during the race with the number seven crossed out on back. Many oarsmen received questions from spectators and referees about the reason for the protest.

"I think it did reach some people," Jacobs said. "Whether or not anything will be changed, we'll have to wait and see."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.