Crew Club Succeeds at Knecht Cup
By J.W. Palmer
For The Collegian


CAMDEN - April 12/13, 2003 - Limited water time this spring season didn't stop Penn State crew club from having a strong performance this weekend at the Knecht Cup.

The highlight of the regatta was the women's [open] eight boat winning the gold-medal in its final.

The women's open eight makes a strong finish for gold.


"Most of the race was back and forth with three of [the teams]," said boat coxswain Ann Morrissey. "We just pulled away in the last 300 meters."

The crew of the winning boat, consisting of Aziza Atwa, Tessa Heller, Marissa Weber, Megan Barrett, Kristen Vitellaro, Stefanie Bachman, Erin Riley and Tess McNamara, was thrilled with the win.

"I couldn't believe it," Barrett said. "I was very happy and proud of all of my boat mates." After winning the race, the crew threw Morrissey into the water. This is a tradition the team uses to celebrate whenever their boat finishes first in a race.

Morrissey said the team didn't know what to expect going into the race.

"We knew we were strong but we didn't have a lot of water time because of the weather," she said. "You're always at a disadvantage when that happens."

The women's eight beat out four other teams in their finals race. Vasser, Bryn Mawr, Lafayette and NYU couldn't keep up with Penn State. The Knecht Cup was seen as a successful regatta in the eyes of Penn State head coach Susan Saint Sing who said she was very happy with her young team's overall performance.

"Teams came from as far as Oklahoma to compete in this two day huge regatta," she said. "For our young program to mix it up with some of the fastest names in racing, I thought we did really well."

The women's eight was not the only boat to see success. The men's pair finished in second place in the Petite finals. Both the men's four and eight had a strong showing as well with both boats finishing third in their respective races.

The women's [open] four faced tough competition as it raced against Big Ten powerhouse Wisconsin in their race. The boat managed to fight its way through the race and finish in third place.

The weekend's racing may have worn down some members of the novice team. The heavyweight four and eight boats both managed to make the finals, advancing through preliminary and semifinal rounds. Four members of the squad are on both teams, and therefore had to endure six races over the weekend.