Rowers kick off season at Occoquan Sprints

This weekend the Penn State crew team will finally get its feet wet.

The rowers compete in their first regatta of the season Sunday at the Occoquan Sprints in Fairfax, Va. The meet, hosted by George Mason University, will include some of the East's top schools, including University of Maryland Baltimore County, North Carolina, Old Dominion, St. Mary's and Towson State.

The Occoquan Sprints feature 24 events, including men's and women's eights and fours at the varsity, junior varsity and novice levels. However, the Lions won't be able to cover all of these events as they will only enter four boats: both a men's and women's varsity four and a men's and women's novice four.

No matter how many boats enter each race, the top six in each event advance to the finals. These boats will be determined by heats.

Although Penn State coach Colin Upson hopes for a strong showing from his crew, he says he is most interested in seeing how each of his boats performs on an individual level.

"I'll be interested to see what the times look like," Upson said.

He added he wants to see how the rowers will react to competition and how well they work together under pressure.

Upson also is eager to see how his crew measures up against the competition at Occoquan. The Sprints will mark the first time the Lions have seen any of the other schools.

"This will be a little benchmark for the rest of the season," Upson said.

Of Penn State's four boats, the men's varsity four -- consisting of seniors Mike Dugan and Pete Hanson, and sophomores Steve Brewer and Greg Shoup -- is expected to be the most competitive. It will be the only boat with four experienced rowers.

While the men's varsity four hopes to make an impressive showing at Occoquan, its biggest concern at this point in the young season is improving.

"We're always striving to get a medal in each race," Shoup said. "This is our first race of the season, so we just want to get out there and see how we do."

Upson believes his men's varsity four will stand out.

"I'll be very excited to see how they do," he said. "I expect a lot from them."

As for the rest of the boats, Upson said the women's varsity four could be a surprise.

"I was very pleased with the work that they've done," Upson said. "Spring break (training trip) definitely helped them."

However, he said he wants his novice boats to do their best and gain experience, saying, "This will be their chance to see what the sprint season is like."