Student-athletes from many of northwestern Pennsylvania's colleges are voluntarily taking part this year in a project to put the fan one step closer to the field.
College Connection will feature a recurring series of entries at the Erie Times-News Sports blog from student-athletes in various sports. Entries will start with the authors' biographies, then take off in the direction each athlete desires, from on-field performance to off-field life.
Today, meet Bethany Brun, a sophomore rower at Mercyhurst College.
Bethany, a Religious Studies and Sociology double major with a 4.0 GPA, attended Chaminade-Julienne in Beavercreek, Ohio. She's coming off an appearance on the 2008 NCAA Division II All-American team, along with coxswain Michele Handzel, during a season in which she was Mercyhurst's rookie of the year.
As a freshman, Bethany stroked boats to medals at the fall Speakmon Regatta in the fall and the MACRAs and Knecht Cup in the spring. She helped the Lakers place third at the Dad Vail regatta in Philadelphia, and in the process Mercyhurst qualified for the national championships in Sacramento, Calif. The Lakers narrowly qualified for the petite finals, then won the grand final title by 10 seconds over Nova Southeastern.
Bethany is the daughter of Randy and Peggy Brun and has four brothers -- David, John, Luke and Kevin and two sisters, Emily and Michelle.
Keep up to date with Bethany in the Times-News and at the college's rowing page.
You'll be able to find all the College Connection posts by clicking on the project name in the category menu on the right side of the blog page, or by clicking the author's name or college in the same menu. Feel free to leave well-meaning questions or comments for review and possible posting.