Today's race between Penn and Yale on the Housatonic at Derby, Conn., will open the eastern rowing season with what should be an extremely close contest. Its interest lies mostly in the forecast which it will afford concerning two crews about which comparatively little is known.

With the exception of Captain Hord at 6, Coach Nickalls has an entirely new crew this year. Three of his first boat were on the second University last year, one on the 150-pound crew, and the rest have had no University experience. In time trials over the mile and five-sixteenths course on the Housatonic, the performance of the first eight was declared by Coach Nickalls to be "highly satisfactory".