Penn AC Rowing Association

Wondering how to get selected for the 2024 Olympics and about the next steps for our high performance group? Meet our high performance athlete Webster Thompson who knows just how - click the link below.

Webster Talks: How to get selected for 2024 Olympics Wondering how the Philly rowers could get selected for the 2024 Summer Games, find out here.

Our high performance group (branded as Philadelphia Training Center) is starting a new video series! Check it out on YouTube!

Welcome to Philadelphia Training Center at Penn AC Meet the high performance athletes who train out of Penn AC Rowing Association, located on Philadelphia's historic boathouse row. Penn AC has been the home f...

Interested in learning more about our Junior Gold Program? Know a junior athlete who is looking for a competitive Summer racing squad? Join us tomorrow, Sunday (01/30) and 7:00pm EST on Zoom.

Penn AC Hires Bill Manning as High Performance Coach
January 25, 2022

Penn AC Rowing Association, a USRowing High Performance Partner Club, is pleased to announce that it has hired Bill Manning as head coach of its High Performance Group, effective February 3, 2022.

“We believe Bill Manning will be a catalyst to cement Philadelphia as one of the top training centers for elite rowers and scullers in the U.S., and to develop athletes that will ultimately win medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games.” said Penn A.C. President Mike Wherley. “Bill brings an incredible track record of coaching success at the elite college level and also with the U.S. National Team, and we expect he will attract athletes to add to our current squad, building a very strong team of highly-motivated men and women.”

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Penn AC to focus on developing and supporting brave rowers and scullers pursuing their Olympic dreams,” said Manning. “The club, the Schuylkill Navy, and the greater Philadelphia community have an extraordinary record of achievement. With US Rowing’s renewed emphasis on club rowing, Penn AC is well positioned to continue producing world class athletes for the USA.”

Manning has a long history of success coaching in the collegiate ranks. Most recently, he was the interim head coach of LaSalle University (since October 2021). Prior to that, Manning spent 23 years combined at Princeton University and Harvard University, including two years with Princeton Women’s Rowing (2019-2021), six years with Princeton Men’s Lightweight Rowing (2013-2019), and 15 years with Harvard Men’s Rowing (1998-2013).

In 2021, the Princeton Women finished 12th at the NCAA Championships. Princeton’s Men’s Lightweight team had great success during Manning’s tenure as assistant coach. Boats coached directly by Manning won a gold medal in the Lightweight Men’s 4 in 2015 at the IRA National Championships and four silver medals and one bronze at the same regatta from 2016 to 2018. He also coached four crews to gold medals at Eastern Sprints. The Tiger Lights finished the season ranked #2 in both 2018 and 2019 and #3 in 2016.

At Harvard, Manning served as Associate Head Coach under Harry Parker in 2011-2013. In those two years, Harvard’s first varsity 8 won gold at the Eastern Sprints and took silver at the IRA National Championships in 2013, after finishing silver and bronze in the same regattas the prior year. In both years, Harvard won the overall team trophy at the Eastern Sprints and swept Yale in the Harvard/Yale Race.

As Harvard’s freshman coach from 1998-2011, Manning’s crews won seven Eastern Sprints titles and six medals at the IRA National Championships. His top freshman boat medaled in twelve of the thirteen years they raced at the Eastern Sprints, did not lose a dual race in Manning’s final five seasons – defeating 35 straight opponents, and defeated Yale in eleven of thirteen Harvard/Yale Races.

Additionally, at the Henley Royal Regatta, Harvard's crews coached by Manning won the Visitor's Challenge Cup (2013), the Ladies' Challenge Plate (2012), the Prince Albert Cup (2011), and two Temple Challenge Cups (2002, 2001).

Manning has spent many summers coaching for the U.S. National Team, including as assistant coach to the men’s pair in the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2003 World Championships, as coach to the lightweight men’s 8 and lightweight men’s 2- at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships, respectively, and as coach to two medaling crews at the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2018 he served as Head Coach for Team USA at the Youth Olympic Games. Additionally, he has coached numerous U23 and U19 crews over the years, most recently winning bronze medals in the U19 women’s 4 in 2016 and 2018.

“I am thankful for the many athletes and coaches I have worked with on the international stage who have contributed to my development as a person and coach,” said Manning. “Their influence will guide my work as I seek to help others represent the United States and compete at the highest level.”

“Penn AC has a long history of developing athletes to represent the U.S. and have real successes at the international level – including winning medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games,” said Wherley. “We know that USRowing’s new leaders are looking for Penn AC and its other Partner Clubs to step up, invest, rally support from the rowing community, and help deliver those medals over the next quadrennial or two.”

“Bill is the perfect coach to take our athletes and our program to the next level. We welcome him to the Schuylkill Navy community and look forward to all that he will contribute,” said Wherley.

We're hosting an open house!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30TH
2pm - 6pm

All are welcome to an open house at Penn AC in celebration of Coach Ted Nash. Stop in for a beer and a bite to eat in the Ted Nash Room (and outside on the deck) between 2-6 pm. Ted was an icon at Penn AC, a longtime supporter of the club and the head coach of its high performance program for many years. He continued to row out of the boathouse well into his 80’s and his presence is greatly missed.

**Proof of Covid Vaccination or negative Covid test within 72 hours will be required for entry**

We caugh up with Coach Hammond who led our Junior Women’s squad this past Summer. Here’s what he had to say about the 2021 Summer racing season with the Gold team:

“The women’s crew this summer checked all the boxes a coach could ask for. After a COVID-affected year the group was eager to train and learn. Through 5,000 meter battles, and competitive right away racing, the team bonded over the first few weeks. We were cited to dive head-first into the whirlwind of emotions at Independence Day Regatta, with the day ending very Golden. Two quick weeks of training later and our crews lined up against the best junior athletes in the country in Camden, NJ for Summer Nationals. We came out on both sides of some very tight racing throughout the week, ultimately crossing the line third in the Women’s U19 4+. This was such a fun group of athletes to work with, and we can’t wait to see which collegiate teams all of our hard working seniors will end up making faster next Fall. We look forward to following the racing of the now-alumni, and hopefully will catch up with the under classmen next Summer!”

We caught up with the Head Coach of our Jr. Boys' program from this past Summer, Dave Herrick, to ask him about the Summer '21 experience. He shared...

"2021 was an eventful camp for the Penn AC men. The loss of 2020 was felt by the coaches from a recruiting standpoint, especially in the face of an ever-expanding USRowing development system. Despite that challenge, recruiting coordinator Will Scully managed to bring in four 8’s worth of rowers and six top notch coxswains to Philly, easily one of the biggest groups the Gold program has seen in recent history, and one of the strongest.

The first week was challenging logistically, for several reasons. A large group of athletes, in an unfamiliar space, in a new city can be difficult in a standard year, let alone with covid precautions thrown in. Despite this, the squad found a groove and got to work cranking out more volume than many had ever done before. Even when exhausted they stayed positive and committed to each session, focused on unifying a group of athletes from a variety of backgrounds and styles of rowing into one. Day by day they got better.

The summer racing circuit proved to be faster than ever. The Independence Day Regatta was a good first step for the team. The Varsity 8+ took second behind a very strong Greenwich crew, and half the U19 4+ field was Penn AC before thunderstorms scrapped the final, a tragic end to what could have been fantastic racing. Summer Nationals had more cooperative weather, and racing was good. With few exceptions, every athlete was entered in two events to maximize their opportunity, and the vast majority made it out of their respective time trials. Notable highlights include a bronze medal in the U19 4+, a 5th place finish in the U19 8+ for the Varsity 8+ (half of which were in the U19 4+), and an outstanding race (despite delays) for the 2V8+ in their semifinal. For the whole Gold program, it was arguably the best finish at Nationals in the last five years.

Results aside, I believe the team learned a tremendous amount about not only rowing but themselves, rowers and coxswains alike. One of the new elements this summer was a designated coxswain coach in Coral Kasden. Coral worked closely with the entire coxswain corps (despite having to work on her PhD) and her efforts combined with their work ethic were huge contributors to what made camp so successful. I want to thank my assistants, Will and Kristen, for their unending efforts this summer. Will’s recruiting efforts were terrific, and I could rely on him for counsel when I needed it, which was often. Kristen’s inside knowledge of the club proved invaluable, combined with her extensive sculling experience she proved to be an excellent leader for these young athletes. Lastly, I want to give a massive thank you to Paul Coomes. Paul was the keystone for this camp and without a doubt we would have failed without him. It was a joy to be back in Philly with Penn AC, and I hope to see it again soon. Go Penn AC!!!"

We caught up with Coach Aaron Preetam to ask him for a recap of our 2021 U23 Summer racing program. Here's what he had to share:

The U23 program successfully returned to PennAC this summer under the stewardship of Aaron Preetam, Zack C***s, Chris Reich, and Mary Mosier with a focus on sculling and winning the 4x event at summer national championships. A number of the scullers had begun training well before the close of the traditional season. This allowed them to gain a stronger sense of the stroke that we are teaching and the effective application of power.

Three boats demonstrated that they had the speed to compete at U23 trials. Tomio Filiaci and Marco Palomo in the men’s 2x, Luca Foschi Walko in the men’s 1x, and in the women’s 2x Josie Konopka and Kate Maietta. While the men had a strong showing, the women won and represented the US at U23 World Championships in Racice, the Czech Republic placing 15th overall.

Summer Nationals was, without a doubt, a resounding success! Julia Batson and Sophia DiPietro won bronze in the women’s U23 double. Julia would later garner a second bronze medal in the single. Marco Palomo and Tomio Filiaci placed second in the men’s U23 double. Cole Rooney (S), Tomio Filiaci, Carver Schildt, and Luca Foschi Walko (B) became the 2021 national champions in the U23 men’s 4x and later placed third in the open quad. The coaches concurred that we are proud of the strides made in every boat and the supportive community that the rowers forged this summer.

An accolade that won’t show up on the medal tally is the ability of several U23s that never sculled before, like Richmond Cooney and Ethan Debasitis and many more that could learn the PennAC sculling stroke in the matter of a few weeks and effectively apply it in race day.

Based on the work that was put in and the boats that also performed well, we expect to see multiple boats medal at nationals in the men’s and women’s quad next summer as well as coming home with Canadian gold when we return to normalcy.

Our thoughts are with the Nash family during this difficult loss.

The Myth and the Man | Rowing News To some, a coach. To others, a father figure. To all, an indisputable man of the sport.

Final Olympic Qualification Regatta Update:

Our Men's 4x finished 6th in Saturday evening's repechage, with a time of 5:54.28. They did not advance to the final. Coach Sean M. Hall spoke with Rowing News after the event, with the following message:

“First off, we are obviously very disappointed things didn’t go the way we had hoped they would,” said coach Sean Hall. “I’m sure we all had some expectations — I know I did — as all indicators at various stages were so positive, it was hard not to think we were sure to at least be in the final, if not fighting it out with Estonia for the win.

“But this is racing at the highest level. We have to remember most everyone we raced against has a shopping list of accomplishments, lots of international race experience, and medals. By contrast, these guys are brand new to this, with only Justin Keen having a few years racing at this level.

“They raced like they’ve been at it a while. And let’s be honest, this was only their 3rd full race together.
I think COVID is what got us this far. It gave the guys time to grow and mature as athletes, and I think that showed in the racing, starting with trials.

“But it was an unusual circumstance which will not happen again, and I hope the guys will realize this and use the time they have and continue to pursue their goals,” Hall said. “I also hope this will draw more talent to the group, and to the discipline. The most important thing is to keep it going.”

Read the full article here: https://www.rowingnews.com/2021/05/15/four-u-s-crews-out-two-advance-to-semis-in-lucerne/?fbclid=IwAR1WDbBPn3irdDxXevLkZkQ9-7cqjeM-luAu4G_Q60BNKCt9cWV9TdI0W5U

The Final Olympic Qualification Regatta starts tomorrow in Lucerne, Switzerland! Our Men’s 4x will be racing to earn a place in this Summer’s Olympic Games.

There will be no livestream until finals on Monday, but there will be live audio commentary and race tracker for the weekend races. Head to the link below to follow along:

World Rowing - How to Follow : 2021 Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland The road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games continues with the last chance to qualify in rowing - the World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta.

Our Men's 4x leaves World Cup I 0.11 seconds off of a podium finish in the crew's first international regatta.

"The biggest takeaway for us is that we have the speed to compete internationally with the top crews," Anderson said. "We still have some areas to fine tune to find more speed. We're excited to compete at the final Olympic qualifier."

Read more from USRowing's coverage of the event (link below) and stay tuned for the 4x's race at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, starting May 15th.

https://usrowing.org/news/2021/5/1/team-usa-mens-quad-finishes-fourth-at-world-rowing-cup-i-in-zagreb.aspx