Neverending season coming to a close for Crew

If you've walked by the High Rises, the Quad or any of the on-campus residences on any given night in the past two weeks, you may have noticed that there are still a few lights on. Many of these lights are eminating from the rooms of members of the various crew teams at Penn. After most students are already at home or working, the Penn men's and women's crew teams are still here practicing everyday. "It's weird being on campus when there's no other students here," sophomore lightweight rower TJ Berdzik said. "But I knew I'd be here longer." The crew teams are preparing for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (IRAs) which start next Thursday and run through the weekend. The IRAs will take place on the Cooper River in nearby Camden, N.J. The IRAs include all the best teams and serve as the de facto national championships. "The season's been shaky, but the team pulled together at the Eastern Sprints Championships," said Berdzik, who won the Most Valuble Player award for the lightweight team. Berdzik is returning to Camden for the first time since his senior year of high school, when he led his team to the national championship. In fact, he has never lost on the course. The Eastern Sprints Championships took place last Sunday in Worcester, Mass. on Lake Quinsigamond. The men's varsity lightweight team finished seventh with a competitive time and won the petite final. Their success last weekend was a big factor in the team's decision to compete at the IRAs for the first time in four years. Every team in the Eastern sprints league is given an automatic bid, but in years past, Penn has chosen not to attend. The men's heavyweigh team entered the competition seeded seventh overall and toppled the top seed, Navy, in the first heat with a time of five minutes, 52.3 seconds. That time was good enough to give the Quakers their first Ivy League title since 1991. They then took second place overall in the final, losing only to Northeastern. "We're looking forward to finding the extra one or two seconds that will put us over the top," said heavyweight coxwain Rob Blumhof of the second varsity boat. The heavyweights are hoping to beat Northeastern and win a gold medal at IRAs next week. "The varsity boat is in a very good position," said senior heavyweight Sean Elward who rows in the second varsity boat. "[Last weekend] gives us real good momentum going into IRAs." Elward added that the second varsity boat also has a good chance to win a medal next week. The lightweights are also hoping to win a medal and finish ahead of Yale, who took third at the Sprints Championships. The crew season is the longest sports season at Penn and even as the dorms close for the summer and the lights go out, the crew team will still be here. "Eat, sleep, and row, that's your life," Berdzik said.