Heavies Aiming For Penn in Adams Cup

Chalk another victory up for the schedule makers.

The final two weeks of rowing action on the Charles River will feature the top three crews in the East, according to the Eastern Coaches Poll released Wednesday.

Harvard, ranked first, will host third-ranked Penn and fifth-ranked Navy for the Adams Cup tomorrow at 8:45 a.m., and the Crimson gets no rest, hosting second-ranked Northeastern next Saturday at 9:45 a.m.

"We know we're in for a tough battle next week with Northeastern," Harvard coxswain Travis Metz said, "but all year, we've been gunning for the Adams Cup."

Rower's Block

What's the excitement about the Adams Cup all about?

After all, the big races for the Crimson are the Eastern Sprints, The Race (against Yale in June) and the Nationals in Cincinnati. The Adams Cup is just another addition to Harvard's treasure trove on the road to the national championship.

But if you're looking in the Crimson trophy case for the Adams Cup, well...no it's not hidden behind the Stein Trophy, the Redwood Shores Trophy, the Compton Cup, the Worcester Bowl, the Sexton Cup and the national championship trophy.

Despite fielding three national championship boats in the last five years, Coach Harry Parker's crews have not brought the Adams Cup to Cambridge since 1983. Last year, Harvard was unable to handle the choppy waters on the Severn River in Annapolis, Md., losing its only race of the year while finishing 4.3 seconds behind Penn and one second behind Navy.

Harvard is heavily favored, fielding one of its strongest crews in the last few years. Rowing for the Crimson, from bow-to-stern, are Captain and bow Joe Harvey, senior Curt Piecken-haugen, junior Peter Sharis, sophomore Hugh Evans, junior Jon Bernstein, senior Jack Rusher, senior Phil Schuller, stroke and senior John Amory and sophomore Metz.

But the Quakers present a tough challenge, bringing a 3-0 record into tomorrow's race. Penn swiped the San Diego Crew Classic three weeks ago--outlasting Washington, Navy, Yale, Princeton and Wisconsin--and has since topped Princeton and Columbia in the Childs Cup and beat Yale and Columbia in the Black-well Cup.

The Quakers' varsity boat includes junior Ed Pedicone, sophomore Chapin Henry, senior Jon Anderson, senior John Connors, senior Mike Peterson, junior Spencer Cutter, Jeff Pfaendtner, senior Mark Weglarz and senior Andy Goldberg.

Navy brings its own 2-1 record into tomorrow's action.

How Does a Husky Row?: Northeastern pulled up to the number-two spot in the Eastern Coaches Poll behind a stunning 2.5-second upset win over Brown last Saturday on the Charles. The Huskies pulled ahead in the last 500 meters of the race after the two boats exchanged leads over the middle 1000 meters.

Chasing the Elusive Goldthwait Cup: The Harvard lightweight crew will be looking to avenge its only two losses of last season when it travels to Princeton, N.J. for the Goldthwait Cup Saturday, the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton regatta.

The Crimosn (3-1) dropped last year's HYPs by 2.3 seconds to Princeton, which enters this year's races once again with an undefeated record. Harvard has not won the Goldthwait Cup since 1980 and has already lost to Yale this year in the San Diego Crew Classic.

Rowing Eastern Coaches Poll

1. HARVARD

2. Northeastern

3. Pennsylvania

4. Brown

5. Navy

6. Yale

7. Cornell

8. Syracuse

9. Wisconsin

10. Rutgers