Rowing team in Philly for Dad Vail Regatta robbed

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A rowing team from the University of Pittsburgh will likely remember its visit to Philadelphia for this year's Dad Vail Regatta for all the wrong reasons after their belongings were stolen.

The Pitt crews had only been in town a few hours. They had parked their minivans near the Girard Avenue Bridge and went out along the banks of the Schuylkill River to warm up and set up their belongings.

Two hours later two of their vans had been broken into and all of their personal belongings stolen.

"Some people's laptops, backpacks, chargers, and Xbox controllers, stuff like that," said rower Katrina Schechter.

Some of the members of the men's and women's race teams are from our area.

Ridley Lewis of Lancaster, Pa. said, "This is the first time a lot of us have been home.... I had my dorm room stuff from the entire semester, and it's gone."

Schechter added, "We came here for a fun weekend to do something with the team. So this definitely puts a damper on our mood. And we are trying to stay focused for our competition."

The rowers admit it's frustrating, but they refuse to let it ruin their races.

They planned to take all of their anger out on the river during Friday's races.

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