M. Crew headed for home course

They gave up their summer jobs for months of uncertainty, two-a-day practices, and work, work and more work.

But for senior rower Tom Paradiso and junior coxswain Bill McManus, the end result was just what they had dreamed of -- a trip to the FISA World Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland, and a bronze medal in the lightweight men's eight.

The experience was everything the two had expected -- the draping of the medal, the presentation of flowers, the pride in representing the United States.

"They have cameras going down the line and they give you medals and flowers and your face is on this big TV in front of everyone," McManus said. "That was really exciting."

But the road to that moment wasn't always smooth. Paradiso and McManus had to endure practices twice a day -- at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. -- with only Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings off. They had to learn to work with rowers whom they had battled throughout their collegiate careers. And Paradiso, who rows as a heavyweight for Penn, had to cut 15 pounds to make the lightweight squad.

There was also the constant uncertainty.

While the Penn duo headed to the Princeton training camp in early June -- only days after finishing their collegiate season at IRAs -- the final selection for the national team was not made until late July, just a few weeks before Worlds, which were held Aug. 18-26.

The wait was tough, if not disheartening.

"There were times over the summer that I thought I was going to get cut and I had packed my bags," Paradiso recalled.

Yet, Paradiso, who was invited to the camp on the strength of his showing on the ergometer and earned his spot through superior seat racing, and McManus, who was recommended by Penn head coach Stan Bergman, both stuck it out, making the cut and finding themselves together on a boat that included rowers from Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia.

"At first it was a little awkward because a lot of these guys I race against during the school season," Paradiso said. "But once the boat was formed, we all knew that we were in the same boat and would be pulling together and there was no doubt that everyone would be going as hard as they could."

With the team set and the Penn duo firmly ensconced on the squad, the team set out a week early to acclimate to Switzerland.

The time to settle -- as well as the long hours and the intense competition that had surrounded the team from the very beginning -- began to pay off, as the U.S. team won its heat, earning an automatic bye to the final.

And, on Aug. 25, with their parents in attendance, Paradiso and McManus' summer came to a climax, as they faced off against the best in the world. The U.S. squad took third with a time of five minutes and 38.800 seconds, finishing behind France and Denmark. In the Americans' wake were the Italians, British and Australians, respectively.

"The actual racing was the best part," McManus said. "You wait all summer, two and a half months, and then you finally get to racing..."

But just as exciting as the race was the opportunity to represent the red, white and blue in an international competition.

"It's a lot more exciting when they're calling out Italy and France instead of Princeton and Brown," McManus said. "There's just this pride aspect in representing the United States."

Months later, the two can easily recall their shining moment by gazing at their medals -- which both brought to school, despite some resistance.

"I have it here with me," McManus said. "My mom didn't want me to bring it up [to Penn], she wanted to keep it with her.

"I think eventually my mom's going to want it back."

But for Paradiso and McManus, this summer's medal may be just the first of many. After all, they may have given up their summer jobs, but, looking toward the future, neither regrets it.

After all, "World bronze medalist" or, better yet, "Olympic champion" looks pretty good on a resume.

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