When you think of marque Syracuse Orange seniors from this past season, guys like Delone Carter and Rick Jackson might be the first to come to mind. But Jackson isn't the only hardworking senior from Philadelphia on the SU hill, just ask SU Rowing Head Coach Dave Reischman. Mike Gennaro, Kenny Merfeelius and the Berry brothers may not be household names in Syracuse, but the four seniors from philadelphia are looking to wrap up their senior season in style. And as they travel to Worcester, Massachusetts this weekend for the 2011 Eastern Sprints, they're reflecting back to the reason why they came to Syracuse in the first place. They had other options like Cal and Washington, two of the more successful rowing programs in the country, but they wanted to make their mark in Syracuse.
"They just sort of looked at each other and said you know what this is the place we want to be, recalls Reischman, "and we want to try and have an impact on a National level here."
"We wanted to come to a place that was on the rise," says Vince Berry, "that was on the border of being a really good competitive team, and push it over the top."
And their skills and hardworking mentality have rubbed off on the other rowers.
"I think a lot of the magic of this particular group is it's driven by four guys from Philadelphia," explains Reischman, "very blue collar kids. Kids that come from families that have strong work ethics. And the other seniors that have sort of fit into the group are cut from the same cloth."
A group of guys that don't seem to notice that it's the SU Basketball players and Football players who are getting all of the media coverage and hoopla.
"I just keep telling myself that that's not what I'm here for," explains Gennaro, "I didn't come to Syracuse to row and be the superstar of the city or school."
"If they're looking in the history books," explains Berry, "I want it to be like, a few years from now they're getting medals, consistently getting medals and then a couple years further they're getting gold medals and they're gonna look back a couple years and say those guys started it, those guys started it."
This weekend's races will go along way in helping SU's positioning at this year's Nationals. **Click on the video tab to watch a full feature story on the "Philly Four".**
The following is a full preview of this weekend's Eastern Sprints from SU Athletics.
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The Syracuse University men's rowing team travels to Worcester, Mass. on Sunday, May 15 for the 2011 Eastern Sprints. The SU men, ranked seventh in the latest USRowing men's varsity eight poll, have four boats competing on Lake Quinsigamond.
The varsity eight, ranked sixth in the final EARC Heavyweight Varsity Eight Poll, is in heat No. 1 which is set to launch at 11:12 a.m. The Orange is set to compete against No. 1 Harvard, No. 7 Cornell, No. 12 Georgetown and No. 13 Pennsylvania. Finals are scheduled from 4:31-5:01 p.m.
There are significant lineup changes in all of the SU crews, including the varsity eight boat. Senior Dan Berry joins the V8 crew in the bow. Vince Berry and Mike Dietrick trade seats, as does Dan Turner and Chris Bickford.
The Syracuse second varsity eight, which is ranked seventh in the in the EARC Heavyweight Poll, hits the water at 10:36 a.m. in heat No. 1. SU will face top-seeded Harvard, No. 6 Boston, No. 12 George Washington and No. 13 Columbia. Finals are scheduled for 3:49-4:19 p.m.
The varsity four is SU's first boat to take to the water on Sunday. The Orange is in heat No. 1 and is set to take off at 8:20 a.m. against Northeastern, Harvard and Holy Cross.
Syracuse's freshman eight ranks 10th in the EARC Heavyweight Poll and launches in heat No. 3 at 10 a.m. SU is set to challenge No. 3 Boston, No. 4 Northeastern, No. 9 Columbia, No. 15 Georgetown and No. 16 Holy Cross. Finals are scheduled for 2:37-3:07 p.m.
Last season, the varsity eight placed second in the petite final, as did the second varsity eight. The varsity four posted recorded the best time of the day in the two four heats and the freshman eight won finished third in petite final. Syracuse has not medaled since 1959, when the varsity eight came in second.
