The varsity team defeated Lehigh in three of six races, taking first in the men's lightweight fours and second-team women's varsity eights, and placed first and second in front of Lehigh's women's heavyweight fours. In all three races, Penn State won by more than a boat length.
The real battle, however, probably wasn't against Lehigh, but against Mother Nature, who had previously ended the team's quest for water work with freezing temperatures that left a layer of ice on its practice lakes.
This time, she upped her arsenal with an attack of pelting rain that almost flooded the river and brought the current to a raging pace.
"The current was extremely hard to row against. It felt like power cleaning 200 pounds with every stroke," sophomore women's heavyweight Natalie Dell said.
"The current causes tension, like someone pulling back on your oars."
The rain also caused problems within the boats at times.
"There was so much water in the boat before we started, we were bailing it out," varsity lightweight rower Jon Stine said.
"I was having trouble keeping my eyes open and seeing what was coming."
The weather might have even been a long-term advantage for a team that doesn't get a lot of water time.
"The weather conditions allowed us to take advantage of practicing to heighten our level of mental focus and make sure we're always on our toes," women's varsity heavyweight Faheemah Mustafaa said.
"When the water conditions aren't perfect, you need to be," varsity heavyweight Kathleen Donovan said.
Penn State coach John Biddle was more than happy with his team.
"They did better than I expected. I'm pretty pleased with the strength of the crew. We've just gotta get our blade work down now," Biddle said.
The most dominating victory came from the men's lightweight fours, which won by more than two boat lengths. They got an unexpected gift when a Lehigh boat interrupted a mediocre Penn State start by shifting toward the Penn State boat, causing the oars to collide.
"A wake hit them and pushed them into us," Penn State varsity lightweight Max Feldman said. "It actually helped us because our second start was much better. We had a little fear and anger inside. It really gets the adrenaline going."
Even the varsity defeats -- coming in the form of losses for the men's varsity eight, the men's heavyweight varsity four and the women's first-team varsity eight -- were not seen in a completely negative light.
The men's varsity eight competed with two lightweight rowers and one novice rowing for his first time in a varsity boat.
"Being inexperienced, there's a little bit of pressure. They are more refined than the novices. It's a much faster pace," Elliot Heffner said of his first varsity competition. "It was a real honor to be able to row with them."
The rest of the novice rowers had some trouble finding their sea legs as some experienced their first time on a river. The novice boats finished second or third in each of the seven races in which they competed. Penn State assistant coach Keith Hester did not seem worried.
"The weather was really the big factor. We're going to get a significant amount of water time this week," he said.
Without the water practices, the novice team has not had the work it needs to master its timing.
"It feels like every race we've been in, we're behind at the start," novice men's heavyweight Alex Bernsteen said. "We start to catch up but it's almost impossible when you're a couple of boat lengths back early on."
The novices as a whole were not discouraged with their performance.
"It definitely felt good to keep up with them," novice heavyweight Lisa Marie Dirusso said.