Knowing a lot of its rowers had to be back on campus by 8 p.m. to work concessions at the football game, the Penn State crew team couldn't afford to kick its season off slowly. This commitment was just another challenge for the club sport as it competed in its first race this weekend.

Despite not placing in the top three in any of its races, men's varsity coach Pete Rosberg saw the results at the Head of the Ohio Regatta on Sept. 27 as a promising start to the season.

"I can't speak for the women, but I'm encouraged by our start," Rosberg said. "The teams that were beating us were all these super clubs from big cities like Chicago and Milwaukee, but we were pretty dominant in the college scene."

Crew is considered a club sport at Penn State, but that didn't stop the team from being successful against varsity teams at the regatta. Penn State competed in six different races, highlighted by fourth-place finishes in the men's lightweight and the men's open four.

However, the rest of the team's races were cancelled because of the time and poor weather. Rosberg said there was a good chance for one of the team's cancelled boats to win a medal.

"Everyone is very encouraged [with the results], but disappointed the race was cancelled," he said. "It started to rain, but there was a little thunder and we heard there was another storm coming."

Despite not being able to compete in all of their scheduled races, sophomore Katie Chambers saw hope in the fact the rowers were able to compete alongside other varsity teams, which included Miami University (Ohio), Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh.

According to Chambers, some of the challenges the crew team faces include location, transportation and equipment. Since there is no lake directly on campus to practice at, the team must drive 45 minutes to row on an actual lake, with no provided means of transportation like a bus or van. This forces the team to rely on its own cars and teammates to make it to morning practices, which begin at six in the morning. Not to mention the outdated equipment and boats the team has to purchase because of a lack of money.

"I feel the team did very well for being a club team going against university-funded programs," Chambers said. "We get the short end of the stick, but at the end of the day, we work just as hard."

Chambers rowed in the women's club eight race, finishing in fifth place out of five teams. However, the Penn State team only finished 40 seconds behind the fourth-place team, giving it hope for the rest of the season.

"It's a good feeling knowing we are able to go out and represent PSU," Chambers said. "It's good to know our hard work is working out."

The team's next race is the Head of the Charles Regatta on Oct. 18-19, in Boston, but only one boat will be attending. However, Coach Rosberg is most looking forward to the Head of Schuylkill Regatta on Oct. 25 in Philadelphia, the next race on the schedule where Penn State will be sending out multiple boats.

"I definitely think [the Head of the Ohio Regatta] was a good starting point, but there's room for improvement," Chambers said. "We weren't too far behind the other teams, but we know there is work to do."