After nearly five months off, Penn women's rowing is ready for its spring season to begin.
The team has its sights set on the Doc Hosea Invitational on April 1 — the first regatta the team will compete in since early November. Even though it's been a while since the Quakers had a competitive race, if past precedent is any indication, the team is set for a successful spring season.
The women’s team had excellent outings in the fall, which concluded on Nov. 6 at the Princeton Chase regatta. The women’s Varsity Eight team was fastest among the 59 boats in its division, recording an impressive time of 15:08.119 — a good 15 seconds ahead of second-place Radcliffe, which finished at 15:23.878. Equally as impressive, the Quakers' B boat was third overall, finishing with a time of 15:24.350, placing them ahead of A boats from host Princeton, Syracuse, and other schools.
Penn's A boat was coxed by seniors Sophia Poersch and Josie Konopka, and included senior Samy Morton, sophomore Brooke Caragher, junior Simone Vorperian, sophomore Hannah Lemanowicz, junior Catherine Moore, sophomore Alessandra Bennion, and freshman Caroline Soska. The team will be one to watch with many athletes showing promise for the upcoming segment of the season.
The Quakers also won two divisions at the Navy Day Regatta on Oct. 16, with the Eights A boat finishing with a time of 11:59.97 — the best by far in the division. The B boat also pulled through with the second-best time at 12:22.50. The Fours' A boat — with of an all-freshman crew including Claire Devine, Evan Humphrey, Bianca Granitto, Emma Gray, Christina Kamenev — also won that event with a time of 13:33.34.
The impressive fall season is just another feather in the cap of decorated rowing coach Wesley Ng, who has just completed his eighth year as head coach of the women’s team.
A great deal of buzz was growing among for the team at the start of the season following the unveiling of the new Burk-Bergman Penn Boathouse in Oct. 2022. The boathouse, named after legendary coaches and Penn Athletics Hall of Famers Joe Burk and Stan Bergman, serves as a state-of-the-art base camp for the team’s preparation for the upcoming season. Standing upon years of historic achievement and new successes, the boathouse embodies the ambition and drive propelling all Penn rowing athletes.
Following seven more days of regular-season split across five regattas, Penn is set to finish its spring season with Ivy League championships in May, and if the Quakers mirror their fall season, it’s set to be a good spring.
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