MROW | 'Bonner Boys' lead undefeated Freshman 8 into season finale
Edward Paik
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: Sports
It's a four-hour drive to get from where Dan Berry used to be to where he is now.
"From Philly," he said. "We were coming up to Syracuse."
He couldn't forget. It was the first of five official visits to schools where he might spend the next four years. A trip with his twin brother Vince and best friend Ken Marfilius in the passenger seats.
"We didn't know what to expect, really, all we knew was that we were going to meet with a coach, and he'll show us," Dan Berry said.
That was nine months ago, when Berry came to Syracuse for the first time searching for that place to row for the next four years. The freshman can now speak from experience that he found that he was looking for.
All three are part of Syracuse's undefeated Freshman Eight, which has the chance to close out the regular season with a perfect record on Saturday. While the Varsity Eight crew seeks its third straight undefeated cup season, racing for the Packard Cup on the Connecticut River in Hanover N.H., the freshmen will look to secure an undefeated record that hasn't been achieved in four years.
His confidence comes from the trust, the camaraderie, the comfort that comes from knowing he'll have his best friend seated toward him, his twin brother to his back in the same boat, racing for the same finish line.
"The Bonner Boys," Syracuse head coach Dave Reischman called them.
Originally from the Monsignor Bonner High School, just outside Philadelphia, Dan and Vince Berry and Marfilius have rowed together their entire career.
"We knew each other all our lives," Dan Berry said. "Me and Vince meet Kenny in eighth grade, just as friends because we lived 10 minutes away from each other.
"We were really close as soon as we started rowing, we knew we'd become best friends."
But things nearly didn't end up that way. It was the freshman year of high school when Vince decided he wasn't going to row.
He changed his mind, and the three of them, without prior knowledge or expectations of the sport went on to win the national championships that year, with Marfilius in the coxswain's seat and Dan and Vince gripping oars.
"From Philly," he said. "We were coming up to Syracuse."
He couldn't forget. It was the first of five official visits to schools where he might spend the next four years. A trip with his twin brother Vince and best friend Ken Marfilius in the passenger seats.
"We didn't know what to expect, really, all we knew was that we were going to meet with a coach, and he'll show us," Dan Berry said.
That was nine months ago, when Berry came to Syracuse for the first time searching for that place to row for the next four years. The freshman can now speak from experience that he found that he was looking for.
All three are part of Syracuse's undefeated Freshman Eight, which has the chance to close out the regular season with a perfect record on Saturday. While the Varsity Eight crew seeks its third straight undefeated cup season, racing for the Packard Cup on the Connecticut River in Hanover N.H., the freshmen will look to secure an undefeated record that hasn't been achieved in four years.
His confidence comes from the trust, the camaraderie, the comfort that comes from knowing he'll have his best friend seated toward him, his twin brother to his back in the same boat, racing for the same finish line.
"The Bonner Boys," Syracuse head coach Dave Reischman called them.
Originally from the Monsignor Bonner High School, just outside Philadelphia, Dan and Vince Berry and Marfilius have rowed together their entire career.
"We knew each other all our lives," Dan Berry said. "Me and Vince meet Kenny in eighth grade, just as friends because we lived 10 minutes away from each other.
"We were really close as soon as we started rowing, we knew we'd become best friends."
But things nearly didn't end up that way. It was the freshman year of high school when Vince decided he wasn't going to row.
He changed his mind, and the three of them, without prior knowledge or expectations of the sport went on to win the national championships that year, with Marfilius in the coxswain's seat and Dan and Vince gripping oars.
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