PHILADELPHIA – Oct. 26, 2002 – Fighting a fierce headwind on the historic Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Penn State Crew competed Saturday in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, walking away with two medals.
“Our novices are in it to win it,” said Novice Coach John Biddle, addressing the team after hearing that a Penn State novice crew dominated the challenging 2.6-mile race course.
The novice women’s four defeated crews from Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Temple, among others, to win gold with a nine-second margin of victory. This was the first regatta the novices competed in for Penn State.
Taking Silver in the Open Pair event were Penn State’s Lori Simon and Marissa Weber, holding off crews such as University of Charleston and the United States Naval Academy.
Penn State has put together many fast crews this fall and has seen strong results, including two gold medals. Coach Biddle and Coach Saint Sing anticipate an even stronger spring race season, already looking ahead to the national championships in May.
Though the Head of the Schuylkill marks the end of Penn State’s fall rowing season, the team will train throughout the winter and resume competition early next semester.
