Rowing rivalry brewing as Red and Blue get better of St. Joe's

Every day in training on the Schuylkill River, the women's rowing team passes its Saint Joseph's counterpart, quietly sizing it up.

"We're trying to start a rivalry," Penn coach Mike Lane said. "They're great competitors."

Last Friday, the Quakers hit the two-kilometer course on the Schuylkill and showed Saint Joseph's what they were made of.

The Varsity 8 dominated its race, crushing the Hawks by 13 seconds.

"They won handily and executed the race plan the way we anticipated," Lane said.

Although the conditions were less than fair, the Quakers dealt with them better than their rivals did.

"In spring competition, you're never sure what the conditions will be like," Lane said. "Racing in those conditions can only make us better; it's good preparation for what we'll see."

The Second Varsity 8 had more of a back-and-forth race, resulting in an unexpected nailbiting finish in which it edged St. Joe's by 1.3 seconds.

"I was a little surprised by how tight the competition was in the JV race," Lane said. "It was good to actually race and battle someone."

The Varsity 4 also notched a win over St. Joe's.

The only loss the Quakers suffered was in the Novice 8. The Hawks had the lead from the beginning and the Red and Blue just kept falling further back. They ultimately lost to St. Joe's by seven seconds.

Despite the defeat, Penn's coach was optimistic about the future of the boat.

"We have a pretty good class of novice," Lane said. "I think they learned a big lesson from the race and they will be in a much better position this coming weekend."

Next weekend the Quakers will face their first round of Ivy League competition - Columbia and defending NCAA champion Yale.

"We will go into next weekend fully prepared," Lane said.

"I expect we will be neck and neck with them all the way down the course. I think we can beat them but we want to set ourselves up for the best race."

Although the women do not have high expectations for the season, Lane insists that they will be confident in the upcoming races. And Friday's performance will only help.

"They will be fired up from this win," Lane said. "It is a step moving in the right direction to success this spring. I think success builds upon itself and will have a snowball effect for the rest of the season."

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