Less than a week after graduation exercises formally marked the Class of 2006's departure from Penn, the men's heavyweight rowers from the Class of 2009 announced their arrival in a big way.
At the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) Sprints in Worcestor, Mass., the men's heavyweight crew team turned in a solid performance, taking home a pair of first place medals.
With the freshman eight winning its first Sprints title since 1997, and the third varsity/second freshmen four cruising to victory in its final, the youngest members of the team starred, showing just how bright the squad's future might be.
Under the guidance of assistant coach Seth Brennan, the freshmen eight dominated the Grand Final from start to finish, edging out Northeastern, Harvard, Wisconsin, Princeton and Yale with a time of 6:02.28.
"They all did a really great job," Brennan said.
The squad started out strong by winning their first heat to qualify for the Grand Final, defeating Princeton by two seconds.
In the Grand Final, the team drew lane three, which, according to Brennan, is "not by any means a favorite lane." Even so, the Quakers got off to a fast start and never looked back.
This year's first-place finish is a dramatic improvement on the past two years in the Eastern Sprints in which the freshmen eight took fourth place both times.
Going into the Sprints, the team was seeded third.
But given the difficulty of the goal and the unfavorable lane draw, however, the coach was a bit surprised by the success.
"It's so hard to win," he said. "It's always a surprise [to win]; it doesn't matter who you are."
Penn also triumphed in the one-race third varsity/second freshmen four Grand Final. In lane six, the Quakers posted a time of 7:01.792, beating second-place Boston University by about seven seconds.
The varsity eight placed fifth in the Petite Final -- one flight below the Grand Final -- to capture 11th place overall in a field of 18. With a time of 6:25.302, the team finished less than a second ahead of Georgetown.
While classes ended early for Penn in comparison to some of the other schools competing at the Eastern Sprints, Brennan said that the team didn't do any more training than they would have if school was in session.
As the team hits the home stretch, so too does varsity head coach Stan Bergman, who will step down as head coach at the end of the season.
Earlier in the year, in a move clouded in controversy, Bergman resigned on his own terms and accepted a non-coaching position of Director of Rowing Affairs.
And while the face of the team might change as a result, Brennan said that there is no reason why the class of 2009 will not enjoy more success at the next level.
"Winners win," he said. "They'll always be winners, and they'll keep winning."
