Freshman coxswains Lisa Reed and Brigitte Liebowitz and oarsman Ahmed Darwish earned such high grades in their junior year of high school they actually skipped senior year altogether and came straight to USC. The three were recruited to USC as part of the university’s Resident Honors Program.

These seventeen-year-olds are currently enrolled in a full load of freshman courses, part of which double up to count towards high school credits, which will allow them to return home to graduate with their high school classes in the spring. It is quite possible that these students could graduate high school as collegiate rowing champions, as IRA Championships occur before their graduations.

Trojan Navy’s co-captain Danny Friedman is not letting a rigorous training schedule affect his studies. Quite the opposite in fact: the junior oarsman is maintaining a 3.75 GPA while majoring in corporate finance. Danny entered USC with a 1440 SAT score.

Junior Ian McCullough is also a business major and has a 4.0 GPA at USC. Ian is focussing his studies on real estate finance.

Freshman Paul Idzikowski just arrived at USC last semester but is doing so well he has been placed into the Accelerated Math Program and is expected to earn a Masters degree as well as his Bachelor’s degree in just four years.