It looks as though the spring weather is finally here to stay. After coming off a strong win last weekend over No. 11 Northeastern on smooth waters, the Penn women's crew team is looking to dispose of Cornell and Rutgers this weekend in the warm, calm weather.
"We really feel like coming off of last weekend's smooth race, we have the confidence to win this weekend," junior co-captain Emily Davis said.
The sixth-ranked Big Red are heading into this weekend's Raritan Cup coming off a clean sweep over Connecticut.
As with the Penn team, Cornell has also been greatly affected by the weather plaguing the Northeast for the past two weeks. After being sent to the Cayuga Lake from the Onondaga due to frozen waters on April 7, Cornell went on in surprising fashion to beat No. 19 Syracuse. The Quakers fell to the Orangemen this past weekend in the Orange Challenge Cup with Northeastern. Expecting tough competition from Cornell, the Quakers are highly motivated to champion their Ivy rival.
"We're really looking for a win this weekend, as many of us have a personal vendetta on Cornell," Davis said.
Not only will the Big Red be tough competition for the Quakers, but the No. 14 Scarlet Knights are also expected to give Penn a run for their money. After defeating Georgetown, Rutgers then fell to Columbia, who, along with Yale and Penn, was unable to race due to a collision between the Penn and Yale varsity boats on March 29. Rutgers also fell to third-ranked Brown, another team Penn failed to compete against due to harsh weather conditions.
With the present state of ambiguity among rankings, the even-keel meet this weekend will be one won by the team with the desire.
"We're really looking to knock out top-ranked Cornell. It will be an important win that will determine our placement in Sprints at the end of the year," junior Susan Francia said.
"We hope to make it into NCAAs with a strong showing at Sprints. Our learning curve came a lot earlier this year than last, so this should really help us finish our season strong."
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