That fall also saw the arrival of a large class of about 50 eager novices. With Holly and Jason's help, John conducted weekly practice at Bald Eagle State Park. Unfortunately, this picturesque setting is over 30 minutes away from campus, so only weekend water practices were possible.

     The team also purchased an almost new Vespoli Heavyweight Racer 4, and was the first club in the country to order a new set of "Vortex" hatchet oars.

     The racing season was a successful one, consisting of the Head of the Ohio, Occoquan Chase, Head of the Charles, Frostbite Regatta, and Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta.

     A long, intense indoor season then started, with the team showing its erging strength by winning several medals in Pittsburgh and Bucknell Erg races. Several members of the team also traveled to Boston to compete in the Crash-B World Indoor Rowing Championships.

     All this hard work paid off on the team's memorable spring break at Camp Bob in Summerton, SC. The team was aided on the trip by the expertise of Susan Saint Sing (Info on Susan).

     Upon returning to State College, the team had to again trek to the Susquehanna River at Shamokin Dam to practice on the weekends. This was due to the seasonal draining of Bald Eagle and the lack of a replenishing spring thaw.

     However, indoor facilities were greatly improved at this time. With the opening of a new fitness facility in the White Building, Penn State Crew said goodbye to Rec Hall. The facility allowed for a much larger erg room and closer access to weight and cardio equipment, as well as several gymnasium floors and matted areas for circuits.

     During the spring, to increase the number of available racing seats, the team purchased a used Dirigo 8. All members of the club donated $60 for the purchase of the boat, so it was appropriately named the "Sixty Bucks". The boat allowed novices to row in a more competitive 8 during the spring season.

     The team performed extremely well in the spring. All four varsity 4s medalled at the Mid Atlantic Championships in Fairfax. That day, in a surprise ceremony, the Heavyweight racer purchased in the fall was named the Jesse C. Hallowell, in honor of the former rower, coach, and equipment manager. Jesse was shocked and thrilled when his name was unveiled.

     In the week preceding the Dad Vail Regatta, the team repainted the trailer and practiced at Shamokin Dam. Vails were moderately successful for the team, with several boats reaching the semi-finals against stiff competition. After the race, Penn State Crew unveiled the Mark McGreevy Award for positive attitude and team spirit. The award will be given each year to the rower or coxswain who best identifies with the devotion and spiritedness that Mark always displayed during and after his career with the team. Mark was there to present the award to novice Lori Simon.

     In a final team activity, President Emily Burns presided over the naming of the Lightweight racer as she had with the heavy racer the week before. The light racer was named in honor of William R. McClain, former club president, and current rower, equipment manager, and men's captain.

     Beginning during Dad Vails week with the new officer transition, the structure of the club was given a major overhaul. Committees were set up under each officer, fundraising, social, archives, etc. Finally noting the growing role of the women's team, the position of equipment manager was split, with one man and one woman. Neil Pernick and Melissa Jordan were elected for the jobs. Finally, because of its incredible growth, the club's constitution was rewritten to better reflect the current state of the team.

     In the fall of 2001, Penn State Crew turned a major corner on the way to becoming a major regional program. Susan Saint Sing was hired full time, so along with Coach Biddle, the team now had two extremely experienced full-time coaches. This allowed for much more personalized attention on and off the water, as well as regularly scheduled afternoon water practices at Bald Eagle.

     Furthermore, Penn State dramatically upgraded its fleet. The team purchased its first new 8, a racer DL from Vespoli. Thus began the tradition of a Men's Heavyweight 8 at PSU. Also, due to a fortunate mix-up between the University of Miami and Vespoli, Penn State was able to purchase a brand new Millennium DS 8 at a discounted price. With 16 new top-of-the-line seats and the racer 4s, Penn State finally had a complete complement of top-notch boats. Also, an older Vespoli 8 was purchased mainly as a novice racing boat. At the end of the fall, the team's fleet consisted of four 4s, 4 eights, a pair, as well as the Catch Me, Squeeze Me and the Spoustalennium.

     The varsity faired extremely well during the season, winning several medals at Head of the Ohio, The Occoquan Chase, and the Head of the Schuylkill. The team also participated in the Head of the Charles, with a women's 8 rowing in the maiden voyage of the Millennium DS. During the final weekend of the season at the Frostbite and Bill Braxton Regattas, Penn State had over 90 racing members, including almost 50 energetic novices.

     The future looks bright for Penn State Crew, with dozens of returning varsity and novices, excellent coaching, new boats, a restructured team, and a hopeful return to Stone Valley in the spring of 2002.