The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-06-27
QUAKERS WIN.
University of Pennsylvania
Boat Crew Takes
The Four Dared Race Over
Cornell and POughkeepsie.
TIME: IL MIN. IL SEC.
Freshmen Event Is Taken by
Cornell Crew
By a Length and a Quarter In
9 Minutes, 80 Seconds.


races were witnessed by a larger crowd
of spectators than had been expected.
The observance train of forty cars was
thinly peopled, although eight or ten
cars were packed tight with college
partisans who had secured cars for
themselves. Coach Courtney of Cor
nell, who has the reputation of never
seeing his crews row through a race
would have broken that rule and fol-
lowed the shells on his launch if that
vessel had not had an accident which
made it impossible to go out. But he
climbed out on the rocky ledge that
juts out at Crummell Bow, and with
his glasses to his eye, watched the start
and the progress of the shells down the
river. Coach McConville of Wisconsin,
watched the races from the observation
train. Speaking of the freshmen he
said that if the work of the youngsters
was any criterion by which to Judge
the 'Varsities he had no fear of either
Columbia or Pennsylvania in today's
contest.
The four cared race over the two mile
course was won by Pennsylvania. Time
IL minutes u seconds; Cornell was sec
ond: Time II minutes IA 3-5 seconds.
The freshmen eight cared race be-
tween Pennsylvania, Columbia and
Cornell over the two mile course was
won by Cornell. Time minutes So sec
OndS; Columbia was second, one and
one-Quarter boat lengths behind Cor
nell. Time 10 minutes; Pennsylvania,
third 3A boat lengths behind Columbia.
Time 1910.
AT the crack of the pistol the two four
cared crews from Cornell and Pennsyl-
vania took the water together but the
Pennsylvania stroke started at &c. while
the Cornell stroke was only "a. The
pennsylvania stroke, while not as pref
tlly rowed as CornelPs' had much more
go IN II, and before the boats had gone
ten lengths the Quakers had showed
their boat nose ahead of the Ithacans.
cornell had dropped down to the Court
ney stroke of 80 to the minute and al
though inch by inch the Quaker's boat
showed to the front they never increas-
ed during the mile.
The enthusiastic rooters on the train
Kept predicting that the Comedians
would let out the stroke as they neared
the finish and simply eat the Quakers
up, put from mere gain of inches in
the first half mile the gain of the Penn
SyIVan1a boat became one of feet as
they neared the mile mark. Twice the
Comedians tried to reduce the lead but
each time the QuakerS responded and
maintained the lead of one length which
they had when they struck the bridge
1t was here that a collision seemed
imminent. Both crews had steerad
rather badly at the start, angling in
toward the shore, but had straightened
out at the first quarter and given prom
Use OF running very straight course.
Just as they got under the shadow of
the great bridge, and when PennsyIva-
MIA had succeeded in obtaining a lead
of almost a shell length, the ferryboat
crossed the river and threw a heavy
swell 1t was either because the Penn
SylVania oar, who did the steering felt
the effect of the swell and turned tow
ard its contour, or else lost his bearings
that the shell turned almost directly
toward Cornell. and to avoid a seeming
ly probable collision, the Cornell boat
was turned away also. Quick as a flash
pennsylvania Strengthened out again
and when they cleared the great abut-
ments 1t was seen that Pennsylvania
mad a lead over Cornell of fully
length and a quarter. there being clear
water between the boats. From this
point of the battle to the finish there
was little material change unless it
may have been at the mile and three
quarters mark, where Cornell hit the
stroke up to "a and started to close the
gap. But the Quakers who had been
rowing from one and a half to two
strokes per minute faster than the
1thacans all through the race seeing
that Cornell was squirting, whipped their
stroke to SO and crossed the line a win
ner by one length and half in II min
utes SA seconds, according to the
watches of several experts upon the
press car. Mr.. Fortmeyer, the official
time keeper on the referees boat, made
it IL minutes, 9 seconds, but the official
time as given out by the college timers
was II minutes II seconds. Cornell fin
ished, according to these same figures,
in IL minutes q seconds.
The freshmen race, which was start
ed very promptly after the four Dared
finish, was one of the closest and most
exciting races seen on the river in
years, the Columbia crew giving the
Cornell crew a sharp and pretty fight
for first place and making phenomenal
time, considering the slowness of their
stroke. At the sound of the pistol the
crews got away in a bunch, but at the
settling down of the stroke to the crews
usual style it was seen that Cornell had
poked the pointed nose of her shell a
few feet ahead of the line. For the
first half mile the struggle was SO ex-
citing that the spectators arose on the
press car and in the observation train
and PhePre6 for each Cornell
rowing a long, sweeping stroke of "a,
while Pennsylvania was rowing at the
rate of 35. Columbia was rowing a
phenomenally long stroke, 30, the won
der Of all of the experts on the train,
for the boat went along almost as fast
as the Cornell boat.
Close together the three boats hung,
but there was something about the way
the Cornell boat seemed to glide over
the water that made Columbia and
Pennsylvania hearts go down. AS the
crews reached the mile mark, with the
Cornell boat about a half length out
from the bunch-Columbia seemed to
gain and there were shouts of approval
the nose of the boat crept up. But
the old Cornell form was there Never
did the stroke go above the "a mark
and the speed came from increased
power in the stroke, Columbia was
steady in its stroke also, only hitting it
up to 50, but the boat began to lose
after the mile was passed and soon Cor
nell had a lead of a clear length Penn
sylvania was, in the meantime, steering
erratic al the mile mark, going out of
| the course badly. In this way she lost
| speed, and although the crew pulled a
stout stroke and did it cleanly. they
dropped behind rapidly, the nose of
their boat as the came under the bridge
being just even with the stern of the
| Columbia boat. The race after the mile
| and half point was passed was be-
| tween Columbia and Cornell, with some
| chance for Columbia If they worked
hard
"a 49,