The bitter cold weather could not stop the Penn State women's varsity 4 crew team from taking first place last weekend at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J.

After beginning the weekend by crushing four opponents by more than 17 seconds in an 8 a.m. heat race, the team concluded with a triumphant victory over Villanova on Sunday.

The women's varsity 4 boat consisted of senior Kathleen Donovan, senior Kelly Cline, junior Natalie Dell, sophomore Tracy Norman and senior coxswain Ann Morrissey.

One of the crew team's biggest regattas of the season, the Knecht Cup lasts two days and attracts teams from schools in many different states with a variety of skill levels. Even though the crew team at Penn State is a club team, it races against scholarship athletes from other Division I schools.

Due to the poor weather conditions on Saturday, many races were postponed and some were even cancelled all together.

"This was the worst, weather-wise, race I have ever been to," Dell said.

A regatta usually consists of heat races, semifinals and then finals, but because of the rainy, cold weather, the semifinals were canceled. The finals turned into the grand finals, made up of the six fastest times pulled from the heats, and the petite finals, with the next fastest six boats.

Since Penn State pulled the fastest time of all of the heats on Saturday, it earned the top seed for the grand finals.

By the time the sun had risen Sunday, the women's varsity 4 team was already up and rowing. Due to a great start, the Penn State team was first off the line and ahead of the other five boats in the grand finals. The boat continued to lead all the way to the finish line, beating Villanova in open water. Since the rowers sit backward when they compete, they could see Villanova's crew team falling further behind in the last leg of the 2K race.

"This was a very unexpected accomplishment, and we are pretty proud of the result," Dell said.

Villanova is a Div. I school, known for its crew team, and for a club team to win this race is equivalent to the Penn State football team winning the Big Ten Championship, Dell said. The day was extra special for Cline as she celebrated her birthday while receiving a medal for the team's huge win.

The men's varsity lightweight 4 team also showed its skill, placing first in its heat with a lead of about 10 seconds. The team went on to the grand finals, finishing third with an exciting photo finish, just beating Fordham by half of a second in the pouring rain.

Junior crewmember Max Feldman said the team members didn't know the results until later that day, when their coach called. The team cheered with excitement because it was finally able to regain its dignity from an embarrassing race two years prior. Both Feldman and senior Joey Henry were racing at the same regatta when Fordham beat Penn State by over 20 seconds in the final, and they have been striving to get even with Fordham ever since.

The women's frosh/novice 4 team did not get the chance to race due to bad weather conditions, but both the women's club 4A and 4B teams made it to the grand finals.

The 4B team pulled the third fastest time in its division, beating the Penn State Women's Club 4A team.

"This was only the third time we rowed together on the water, and beating the 4A boat was quite an accomplishment," senior Stef Banach, of the 4B team, said.

The women's club 4B team took 4th place, and the 4A team finished fifth.

The crew team will travel next on April 30 to Pittsburgh for the Car-Du-Pitt Match race.