Rowers head south to practice

For the Penn State crew team, spring break was no week at the beach.

The crew team spent its "week off" in Summerton, S.C., training for its upcoming spring season, which opens April 6 at the Occoquan Sprints in Virginia. The time down South was essential for the team's preparation since area rivers up North were frozen. It was the team's first time on the water since November.

"Spring break was three weeks of training collapsed into one," sophomore Greg Shoup said.

From Sunday through Thursday, the crew practiced twice a day, working out from 7 to 10 a.m. and again from 2 to 5 p.m. Half of that time, though, was spent on shore doing land exercises. The other half was in the water.

Coach Colin Upson had his crew begin the week doing long rows in order to re-acclimate them to the water. By the end of the week they were doing full sprints.

The spring trip also was vital for the team because it helped members get used to working with one another. According to Upson, rowing talent is useless if you can't work as a unit.

For many crew members, the spring trip also helped increase their knowledge of a sport they are still learning. Since crew is considered a club sport at Penn State, the team doesn't have scholarships to help recruit new members. Instead, it takes whoever signs up for the team.

"Most of our crew has never had rowing experience before they got here," Upson said. "It takes a long time to really learn how to do it well."

Going into the spring season, only one boat -- the men's first -- will have all experienced members.

"We're a very young crew overall," Upson said.

Despite its overall youth and the fact most of the members will be working together for the first time, Upson believes his team can make a strong showing this spring.

"Our goal last year was just to be at Big Tens," he said. "This year it is to be competitive."

Last spring marked the first time Penn State crew competed at Big Ten championships. According to Shoup, other schools were initially intimidated by the presence of a Penn State team.

However, when it came to the actual competition, intimidation wasn't much of a factor. The fact crew is a varsity sport in all but three Big Ten schools, including Penn State, put Upson's team at a considerable disadvantage. Poor equipment didn't help matters, either.

"We had these Indian dug-out things," sophomore Steve Brewer recalled.

According to senior Pete Hanson, last year's poor showing at Big Tens will only help the team sneak up on the competition.

"Now we're the underdogs," he said. "People think we stink."

This spring's crew, however, will have better boats and a better training scheme. Upson believes the spring break trip alone already has made them better.

"Comparing this year's team and last year's, there is almost none," Upson said.

According to veteran members, Penn State crew already has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the spring of 1995. Having few members and almost no money, the club originally was restricted to land exercises at McCoy Natatorium. Its first boats were two eight-man boats, which were leant to them by Bucknell University.

Slowly, however, the team began to gain momentum. Then, last fall, the Penn State Student Organization Budget Committee gave the team a grant that allowed it to buy better equipment.

"That pushed the club ahead five years in two weeks," senior Mike Dugan said.

Today, after only two years as a club, Penn State crew has about 135 total members, of which about 30 actually compete.

Upson and his crew hope the club reaches new plateaus this spring in establishing a solid crew program at the University.