Click above to visit our sponsor

The Nation’s Cup Regatta
The Nation’s Cup, which takes place July 25-26 in Ioannina, Greece, is the top international competition for rowers under the age of 23. Most of the athletes competing at the Nation’s Cup are still developing their rowing skills and have their sights set on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Twenty-nine rowers from the United States will compete in seven of the 18 events to take place.

The Event
Racing at the 1998 Nation’s Cup begins Saturday, July 25, with preliminary heats and repechages (or second chance races). The action on Sunday, July 26, includes finals, Finals B (the seventh through 12th place finishers) and Finals A (the first through sixth-place finishers).

Champions will be determined in 18 categories. There will be seven women’s events and 11 men’s events. The following is a list of events:

Men’s Sculling Events:	Women’s Sculling Events:
Single Sculls	Single Sculls
Lightweight Single Sculls	Lightweight Single Sculls
Double Sculls *	Double Sculls
Lightweight Double Sculls	Lightweight Double Sculls
Quadruple Sculls *	Quadruple Sculls *
Lightweight Quadruple Sculls
Men’s Sweep Events:	Women’s Sweep Events:
Pair	Pair *
Four *	Four *
Lightweight Four
Four with Coxswain
Eight *

(*) Denotes event in which United States athletes will participate.

Time Change
Ioannina, Greece is seven hours ahead of the East Coast and Eastern Daylight Time. When it is Noon in New York City, it is 7 p.m. in Greece.

Whom to Watch
Sixteen members of the United States’ 1997 Nation’s Cup contingent return for their second competition. The silver medal-winning men’s eight was last year’s top United States crew, finishing 2.6 seconds behind Germany. Returnees in the men’s eight include Matt Carlson, Henry Nuzum, Jason Flickinger and Sloan DuRoss.

All four rowers in the women’s four return. Bow Sharon Kriz and two-seat Leslie Garrett rowed the same event last year. Denni Nessler competed in the women’s pair, while Kate Johnson competed in the quadruple sculls.

Ian McGowan, who came in seventh-place in the men’s single sculls at the Nation’s Cup in 1997, will join forces with Dan Protz to compete in the double sculls event. Together, the young tandem of McGowan, 19, and Protz, 22, have demanded attention since the National Team Sculling Trials June 21-24. There, the duo swept the men’s double sculls trials and earned a berth on the senior national team that will compete at the 1998 FISA World Rowing Championships Sept. 6-13 in Cologne, Germany. Later that same week at the U.S. National Championship – the top regatta in the United States – McGowan and Protz were crowned national champions in both the double and quadruple sculls. At the trials, McGowan and Protz fought off crews that included the likes of 1996 Olympians Cyrus Beasley and Tom Auth.

1997 Nation’s Cup Results from Milan, Italy
(Top 10 finishes only)

Boat	Finish	Time
Men’s Eight	Second	5:36.8
Men’s Lightweight Four	Fifth	6:13.2
Women’s Quad	Fifth	6:56.5
Women’s Four	Fifth	6:53.1
Women’s Pair	Sixth	7:40.3
Men’s Quad	Eighth	6:00.7
Men’s Four	10th	6:13.0
Men’s Single	Eighth	7:11.6

Quick Facts
Matt Smith: Witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Sharon Kriz: Moved from swimming to rowing when she entered college. Named MVP of Rutgers crew in 1998.
Whit Hammond and Mike Chait: Members of the University of Washington’s freshmen crew that recorded an undefeated season in 1997.
Jason Read: Received Community Service Awards in 1993-96 for his work as a volunteer fire fighter, EMT and lifeguard.
Ian McGowan: Started rowing after injuring his neck playing football.
Laurie Coffey: Father, Calvin, won a silver medal in rowing at the 1976 Olympics.

Matt Carlson
Men’s Eight
Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Princeton University
Member of silver medal-winning men’s eight at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Placed fifth in the men’s eight at the 1994 Junior World Championships…Won bronze in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships…Claimed first place in the men’s eight at the 1997 Eastern Sprints…Took first place at the 1996 IRA Championships (collegiate level) in the freshmen eight…Enjoys skiing and works as a lifeguard at a beach in New Jersey.

Mike Chait
Men’s Eight
Seattle, Wash.
University of Washington
Won silver medal in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships… Rowed in the five seat on Washington’s freshman crew that posted an undefeated season in 1997…Enjoys photography…Competed in rowing all four years in high school…Wants to pursue a career in television and worked at an independent television company last summer.

Laurie Coffey
Women’s Double Sculls
Corning, N.Y.
U.S. Naval Academy
Played varsity basketball at Navy…Father won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics.

Sloan DuRoss
Men’s Eight
S. Portland, Maine
Brown University
Won silver medal in men’s eight at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Finished third in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships…Placed second in the men’s varsity eight at the 1997 IRA National Championships…Took second place at the 1996 U.S. National Championships as a member of the men’s pair with coxswain…Finished fourth in the junior men’s four with coxswain at the 1994 U.S. National Championships.

Jason Flickinger
Men’s Eight
Corning, N.Y.
Princeton University
Finished third in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships… Finished first at the 1998 IRA Championships in the men’s varsity eight…Took third place in the men’s varsity eight at the 1998 Eastern Sprints.

Dan Garbutt
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Ventnor, N.J.
Princeton University
Stroked the Princeton freshmen eight boat that finished first at the 1998 Eastern Sprints and third at the 1998 IRA Championships…His three older brothers all rowed…Attended Atlantic City High School where his father has coaches for more than 30 years.

Leslie Garrett
Women’s Four
Duxbury, Mass.
Brown University
Finished second in the women’s eight and third in the women’s four at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Placed fourth at the 1997 NCAA Championships in the women’s varsity eight… Took second place in the women’s varsity eight at the 1997 Eastern Sprints…Began rowing in 1994 at Colgate University.

Whit Hammond
Men’s Eight
Kirkland, Wash.
University of Washington
Won silver medal in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships… Competed in rowing and cross country in high school at Lakeside School…Was a state qualifier in cross country his sophomore and senior years…Stroked the 1997 Washington freshmen crew that recorded an undefeated season…Enjoys skiing and biking.

Kelly Horton
Women’s Pair
Seattle, Wash.
University of Washington
Placed fifth last year in the women’s quadruple sculls at the Nation’s Cup…Took second in the women’s eight and third in the women’s four at the 1997 U.S. National Championships… Member of the Washington women’s eight that was crowned national champions at the 1997 and 1998 NCAA National Championships…Finished second in the women’s eight at the 1996 U.S. National Championships…Began rowing in 1994 at the University of Washington.

Kate Johnson
Women’s Four
Portland, Ore.
University of Michigan
Placed fifth in the women’s quadruple sculls at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Finished seventh in the women’s four at the 1996 Junior World Championships…Took ninth place at the 1995 Junior World Championships in the women’s eight…Finished sixth in the women’s pair at the 1998 U.S. National Championships…Took fifth place in the women’s eight at the 1998 NCAA National Championships…Claimed fourth place in the women’s quadruple sculls at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Began rowing at Oregon Unlimited as a freshman in high school to take a break from swimming…Enjoys climbing, hiking, back packing, art and skiing.

Sharon Kriz
Women’s Four
Somerset, N.J.
Rutgers University
Finished fifth in the women’s four at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Took second place in the women’s varsity eight at the 1998 IRA Championships…Claimed second place in the women’s eight and third place in the women’s four at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Was a swimmer in high school but decided to try a new sport (rowing) in college in 1994…Named Garden State Scholar…Named Most Valuable Person of the Rutgers crew in 1998.

Ian McGowan
Men’s Double Sculls
Snohomish, Wash.
Northwest Sculling Center/Augusta Training Center
Finished eighth in the men’s single at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Took seventh place in the men’s single at the 1997 Junior World Championships…Finished 13th in the men’s single at the 1996 Junior World Championships…Won gold at the U.S. National Championships in the men’s double and quadruple sculls…Finished first along with Dan Protz in the men’s double sculls at the 1998 U.S. National Team Trials…Will represent the United States in the men’s double sculls at the 1998 FISA World Rowing Championships in Cologne, Germany…Started rowing in 1995 for Everett Rowing Association…Began rowing after suffering a neck injury from football.

Denni Nessler
Women’s Four
Pleasantville, N.J.
Holy Spirit/Brigantine RC
Finished seventh in the women’s four and eighth in the women’s eight at the 1994 Junior World Championships…Took eighth place in the women’s pair at the 1993 Junior Rowing Championships…Finished sixth in the women’s pair at the 1998 U.S. National Championships… Won gold in both 1998 and 1997 as a member of the Washington women’s eight…Won silver medals in the women’s pair, four and eight at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Won a silver medal in the women’s eight at the 1996 U.S. National Championships…Captain of Washington’s 1998 crew…Named an All Pac-10 selection in 1997 and 1998…Began rowing in 1991 at Holy Spirit.

Henry Nuzum
Men’s Eight
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Harvard University
Won gold in the Ladies Plate Challenge Cup at the 1998 Royal Henley Regatta…Won silver at the 1997 Nation’s Cup in the men’s eight…Won gold in the junior men’s four with coxswain and bronze in the junior men’s eight at the 1993 U.S. National Championships…Began rowing at Groton School in 1992…Member of Navy ROTC.

Mike Perry
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Ann Arbor, Mich.
MIT
Began rowing at MIT in 1995.

Jamie Peschel
Men’s Lightweight Four
Mercer Island, Wash.
Dartmouth College
Placed 15th as a member of the men’s lightweight double sculls crew at the 1997 Nation’s Cup… Finished sixth at the 1997 IRA National Championships in the men’s varsity eight…Began rowing at the age of 13 at Mount Baker Rowing Club…Majoring in government and minoring in French at Dartmouth…Enjoys running, reading, playing tennis and fly fishing with his dad.

Dan Protz
Men’s Double Sculls
Manitowoc, Wis.
Dartmouth/Augusta Training Center
Finished eighth in the men’s quadruple sculls last year at the Nation’s Cup…Won gold in the men’s double and quadruple sculls at the 1998 U.S. National Championships…Finished first in the men’s quadruple sculls at the U.S. National Team Trials…Will represent the United States in the men’s double sculls at the 1998 FISA World Rowing Championships in Cologne, Germany…Took bronze at the 1997 U.S. National Championships in the men’s quadruple sculls…Was a competitive pianist in high school at Manitowoc Lincoln…Began rowing at MIT in 1994…Enjoys cycling, skiing and rock climbing.

Jason Read
Men’s Eight
Ringoes, N.J.
Temple University
Finished third in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships…Took seventh place in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1995 FISA Junior World Championships… Received the Community Service Award in 1993-96 for his work as a volunteer fire fighter, EMT and lifeguard…Began rowing at The Hun School in 1992.

Elizabeth Rockwood
Women’s Quadruple Sculls
Barrington, Ill.
Michigan State University
Enjoys water skiing, white-water rafting, backpacking and hiking…Began rowing at Michigan State last year.

Decker Rolph
Men’s Lightweight Four
Princeton, N.J.
Brown University
Won gold at the 1997 IRA National Championships in the men’s four…Began rowing in 1992 at St. Paul’s School…Enjoys art and wood working.

Andrea Saathoff
Women’s Pair
Indialantic, Fla.
University of Virginia
Finished fifth in the women’s four at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Finished sixth in the varsity eight at the 1998 NCAA Championships…Took silver in the women’s eight and bronze in the women’s four at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Finished fifth in the women’s eight at the 1997 NCAA Championships…Began rowing at Melbourne High School in 1993.

Alexey Salamini
Men’s Eight
Peoria, Ill.
Princeton University
Won silver in the men’s four with coxswain at the 1998 U.S. National Championships…Finished first in the men’s varsity lightweight eight at the 1998 IRA Championships…Won gold in the men’s varsity lightweight eight at the 1998 Eastern Sprints…Began rowing in 1992 at St. Paul’s School.

Joel Scrogin
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Worcester, Mass.
Brown University
Finished fifth (11th overall) in the men’s varsity eight petite final at the 1998 IRA Championships…Finished first (seventh overall) in the petite final of the men’s varsity eight at the 1998 Eastern Sprints.

Elizabeth Smith
Women’s Quadruple Sculls
Bronxville, N.Y.
Williams College
Won gold medal in the women’s varsity eight at the 1998 New England Rowing Championships Regatta…Finished second (eighth overall) in the women’s varsity eight petite final at the 1998 Champion Intercollegiate Collegiate Regatta.

Matt Smith
Men’s Lightweight Four
Woodbridge, Va.
University of Wisconsin
Took fifth place at the 1997 Nation’s Cup in the men’s lightweight four…Claimed bronze in both the men’s lightweight four and eight at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Finished third in the freshmen eight at the 1997 Eastern Sprints…Took second place at the IRA Championships in the freshmen eight in 1997…Finished third in the junior men’s eight at the 1994 Canadian Henley…Witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989…Enjoys relaxing, listening to music and reading magazines…Began rowing in 1993 at Woodbridge Senior High School.

Abigail Smyth
Women’s Quadruple Sculls
Ukiah, Calif.
Cal-State Sacramento
Finished third in the women’s four with coxswain at the 1997 NCAA Championships…Enjoys traveling…Began rowing at Cal-State Sacramento in 1995.

Cary Sullivan
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Boise, Idaho
University of Washington/Princeton Training Center
Won silver in the men’s eight at the 1997 Nation’s Cup…Won bronze in the men’s eight at the 1997 U.S. National Championships…Took fifth place in the men’s eight at the 995 U.S. National Championships…Finished seventh in the men’s eight at the 1994 Junior World Rowing Championships…Began Rowing at Oregon State in 1993…Received the Waldo-Cummings Outstanding Student Award in 1996…Named to the Pac-10 All-Conference Team in 1995-97… Named to USRowing All-American Second Team in 1996 and USRowing All-American First Team in 1997.

Tom Welsh
Men’s Eight
Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
Princeton University

Won silver at the 1998 U.S. National Championships in the men’s four with coxswain.

Gabe Winkler
Men’s Lightweight Four
St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Cornell University

Took sixth place in the men’s lightweight eight at the 1997 U.S. National Championships… Began rowing in 1995 in Vermont.

All contents copyright 1997-98 Edward Hewitt, unless otherwise noted.