On Brennan's plaque: A two-time IWLCA All-America and three-time All-Region selection, she was a member of four Ivy League championship teams as the Quakers went 26-2 in league play across her four seasons and was a two-year captain in her junior and senior seasons. She also was a four-time All-Ivy honoree, earning first-team honors three of those seasons with a unanimous selection as a senior, and was the 2009 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. She also earned all-tournament at the Ivy League Tournament twice, in 2010 and 2012. She graduated second on Penn's all-time list in career goals (126), assists (87), and points (213) and as a senior she recorded 27 assists and 60 points which put her third on both of those single-season lists.
 
by Terry Toohey
 
Erin Brennan was destined to play lacrosse.
 
Hailing from Garden City, a Long Island lacrosse powerhouse, and a family of athletes, she was introduced to the game at the early age of 6. Her uncle, Joe McDonnell, was captain and co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Brown University in 1980 and Gavin, her older brother, played varsity lacrosse and football at Garden City High School.
 
A self-described "tomboy" growing up, she used to continuously follow her older brother. Her passion for the game began on the front lawn, playing with him and the other neighborhood boys. She attributes her competitive nature and early athletic development to those formative years.
 
Brennan's list of accolades from high school and college are impressive. She was a three-time first-team U.S. Lacrosse All-American at Garden City and guided the Trojans to three New York state (Class B) titles. Brennan also was a standout field hockey player, a four-year letter winner who led Garden City to state titles in 2005 (Class A) and 2006 (Class B) and a runner-up finish as a senior in 2007 (Class B).
 
Brennan finished her high school lacrosse career with 261 goals, 159 assists, 217 ground balls and 164 caused turnovers. At the time of her graduation, she held the Garden City records for points in a game (14, on eight goals and six assists) and a season (141, on 84 goals and 57 assists). She also had 25 goals and 46 assists over the course of her field hockey career.
 
"She just had such an incredible game sense and field vision in both field hockey and lacrosse," said Diane Chapman, Brennan's high school coach for both sports. "She had an ability to communicate with her teammates and be able to lead them on the field. She was an incredible athlete; her skill level was top notch. She was able to direct her teammates downfield and move the ball. She could just see things before they occurred, which was very helpful in moving the ball around and trying to score."
 
Brennan continued that success at Penn. She was a two-year captain, a two-time IWLCA All-America, three-time All-Region selection, and a member of four Ivy League championship teams with the Quakers achieving a 26-2 record in league play across her four seasons. She was also a four-time All-Ivy honoree, earning first-team honors three of those seasons with a unanimous selection as a senior, and was the 2009 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. She also earned Ivy League Tournament all-tournament honors twice, in 2010 and 2012. Brennan graduated second on Penn's all-time list in career goals (126), assists (87) and points (213) and as a senior recorded 27 assists and 60 points, putting her third on both of those single-season lists. She still ranks sixth, fifth and third, respectively, in those categories.
 
"Erin is a true competitor," Penn coach Karin Corbett said. "She was a gamer. She was a leader. She had no fear as a freshman. She came in and started right away and was a big addition to our offense immediately. She had a ton of confidence. She just wanted to win."
 
The Quakers did win, going 50-21 overall in her career (70.4 percent) and 26-2 (92.8 percent) in the Ivy League. Brennan guided the Quakers to four straight Ancient Eight titles (three outright) and four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. That was part of a stretch from 2007-14 in which the Quakers won or shared eight consecutive Ivy League championships (six outright, two shared).
 
When Brennan arrived at Penn in 2008 the Quakers were coming off an appearance in the NCAA Championship final. There was a lot of pressure on the squad to follow up that success heading into the 2009 season. After winning the Ivy League title, Penn went on to reach the NCAA semifinals, falling to eventual champion Northwestern 13-12 in double overtime. Brennan scored Penn's lone overtime goal, with 10 seconds left in the first extra session. The Quakers went to the quarterfinals the next season where they dropped a 15-10 decision to Maryland, which went on to win the national championship.
 
"The pressure was motivation for us," Brennan said. "Everyone bought in. That was Karin's big thing. She wanted us to buy in and we did. It's different being in the Ivy League. Northwestern was the big powerhouse back then and still has an incredible program. But being in the Ivy League, we had many more restrictions than most of the schools we were competing against. It made it all the more demanding. We had to take advantage of the limited number of practices we had in the offseason. We had to do our own voluntary workouts and captain's practices.
 
"The teams that came before us set the tone, showing us that competing for a national championship was possible. It was not like "can we do this?" It was "we are going to do this!" That was always the mentality, the older girls led by example and were inspirational. The mentality was that we were going to be a championship team."
 
Those impressive individual and team accomplishments have earned Brennan a spot in the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame Class XIII.
 
Brennan was ranked as the No. 1 attack player and No. 2 overall in the 2008 high school top 100 by Sports Illustrated/Takkle.com. With credentials like that, she could have gone anywhere she wanted.
 
"I chose Penn because it had everything I could ask for academically, athletically and socially," Brennan said. "After visiting other schools, it was clear to me that Penn was like no other. The team dynamic was unlike any I had seen before, and Penn was a place where I could play on a team and really compete to win a national championship, while also getting the best education possible."
 
Brennan graduated from the Wharton School with a bachelor's degree in economics and a concentration in Finance. Since graduation, she has spent her entire career at Morgan Stanley and is now an Executive Director in Securitized Products Sales, within their Fixed Income Division. While she has not actively played lacrosse for many years, she continues to give back to the Penn lacrosse program serving as a mentor to many of the younger girls, both while attending Penn and post-graduation.
 
Brennan recently faced some battles on a personal level while going through her first pregnancy, losing her beloved mother, Suzanne Brennan, and father-in-law Michael Stump suddenly over the course of just a few months. She and her husband, Dr. Erik Stump, a dentist who graduated from NYU Dental in 2022, got their Irish blessing and were thrilled to welcome their daughter Rosalie "Rosie" Suzanne Stump—who is named after her father's mother and her own mother—on St. Patrick's Day 2024. She credits all of her success to the never-ending love and support from both Suz and her father, Larry.
 
Brennan is looking forward to the induction ceremony, catching up with friends and reminiscing about her career. Despite her impressive credentials, she still has trouble believing that she is going into the Hall of Fame.
 
"I am still in shock and so humbled," Brennan said. "Penn was really my happy place. I had such an amazing experience, and it is such an honor. I feel so grateful and lucky to be considered, especially alongside the other people who are also getting inducted this year. I'm speechless. It makes me really proud to think about the amazing four years our team had, our achievements, and all of the great memories with my teammates and coaches. This honor encapsulates my whole experience with Penn and reinforces my love for the University and its community."