Pittsburgh - Oct. 6, 2001 - The Penn State Crew team won gold,
silver, and bronze medals in Pittsburgh's Head of the Ohio regatta. The Head of the Ohio
is a 5,000 meter races hosted by the Three Rivers Rowing Association on the Allegheny River
and has become one of the premier regattas in the nation, attracting US and Canadian Olympic
teams.
The Penn State Crew team entered seven boats to race, four of
which won medals; The men's heavyweight four (A) won bronze, both the women's lightweight
eight and men's heavyweight eight won silver, and the women's lightweight four (A) took
home the gold. Not winning medals, but still proudly representing Penn State were the men's
lightweight four with fourth place, the women's lightweight four (B) finishing in seventh
place, and the men's heavyweight four (B) taking ninth place.
World-class coach, Susan Saint Sing said, "Now that Penn State
Crew has found a home at Bald Eagle State Park, we are competitively competing with the
other Big 10 schools. PSU Beat the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and the
University of Pittsburgh, and competed against over 100 other crews including Princeton and Boston
University."
This kind of success is virtually unheard of for young crew
teams especially considering the caliber of the regatta. The Penn State Crew team started
in 1994 and operates as a club sport almost entirely without assistance from the university.
PSU Crew boasts a team of nearly 100 rowers this year and expects an extremely competitive season.
Also, PSU Crew is proud to announce the purchase of two new eight-man racing shells; a
Vespoli Racer eight and a Vespoli Millennium eight. These new boats will bring Penn State
Crew into a higher level of competition.
Coach Saint Sing stresses that PSU Crew is not water-challenged and will host a
home regatta in the spring of 2002.
Penn State Crew competes next in the Occoquan Chase Oct. 14 in Virginia.
