WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Seven victors were crowned and four boats earned berths to race at the Munich World Cup, inching one step closer to making the 2004 Olympic Team, as the second 2004 National Selection Regatta (NSR) concluded Sunday with finals in seven races at Lake Mercer.
For four boat classes, NSR 2 represented an important step towards making the Olympic team. The U.S. pre-qualified the men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, women's pair, and men's pair for the Olympics at the 2003 FISA World Championships. In these four boat classes, Sunday's winners earned the opportunity to go to the world cup race in Munich, Germany, scheduled for May 28-30. If the crew finishes in the top four at Munich, it is nominated to the Olympic team without further selection. If a crew chooses not to race in Munich, does not finish in the top four at Munich, or finishes in the top four and chooses not to accept its nomination to the team in that event, that boat class will be opened up to all comers at the Olympic Selection Trials on June 26-July 1.
In Sunday's final of the men's double sculls, the Princeton Training Center duo of Henry Nuzum and Aquil Abdullah earned a berth to compete in Munich by winning the race in a time of 6:59.84. Nuzum and Abdullah finished 1.49 seconds ahead of their PTC teammates, Kent Smack and Ben Holbrook. Smack and Holbrook clocked a 7:01.33. Lightweights Steve Tucker and Greg Ruckman, who rowed in the open weight division this weekend, finished third in a time of 7:04.16, followed by Steve Gillespie and Brett Wilkinson in fourth.
The PTC duo of Bryan Volpenhein and Jason Read won the final of the men's pair in a time of 7:00.86. The duo finished 3.95 seconds ahead of Wolf Moser and Joey Hansen. Harvard Boat Club's Artour Samsonov and Luke Walton finished third in a time of 7:05.58, followed by PTC's Dan Walsh and Jamie Schroeder in a 7:08.31. The duo earned a berth to race at Munich.
In the women's pair, Princeton Training Center's Anna Mickelson and Sam Magee stroked an 8:01.98 to edge teammates Lianne Nelson and Katie Hammes by 0.62 seconds. PTC's Kate Johnson and Maite Urtasun finished third in a time of 8:05.50, followed by Liane Malcos and Kate MacKenzie in fourth. By virtue of their victory, Mickelson and Magee earned the option of racing in Munich.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, Princeton Training Center's Sarah Hirst and Stacey Borgman defeated New York Athletic Club's Lisa Schlenker and Rachel Anderson to win the final and earn the option to race in Munich. Hirst and Borgman clocked an 8:04.74 to win by 4.99 seconds. Julia Nichols and Renee Hykel finished third in a time of 8:12.80, followed by Michelle Whitcomb Borkhuis and Maria Picone.
All four crews qualifying to race in Munich have seven days to declare whether or not they will race the event in Germany.
While the NSR had specific qualification implications in four events, it served as an important step in the Olympic selection process for the other three events. The U.S. women's double sculls and lightweight men's double sculls did not qualify for the Games at last year's world championships. These two boat classes, along with the men and women's single sculls, will have an Olympic Selection Trials from May 18-24. The winner of the selection trials will go to the Olympic Qualification Regatta in June in Lucerne, Switzerland, to try to earn a spot at the Games. For these two events and the lightweight men's pair, NSR 2 gave the athletes a chance to test their speed against top competition as they prepare for trials or attempt to earn invitations to the selection camp for the big boats like the women's quadruple sculls or the lightweight men's four.
In the women's double sculls, the Princeton Training Center tandem of Laura Rauchfuss and Danika Holbrook edged teammates Michelle Guerette and Dana Peirce by 0.30 seconds to win the final. Rauchfuss and Holbrook clocked a 7:38.25 to Guerette and Peirce's 7:38.55. PTC's Kelly Salchow and Hilary Gehman finished third with a time of 7:38.80, followed by Augusta Rowing Club's Ala Piotrowski and Carol Skricki.
In the lightweight men's double sculls, Augusta Rowing Club's Tim Larson and Gavin Frase won the final in a time of 7:22.35. Lake Washington Rowing Club's Tyler Peterson and Evan Jacobs finished second in a time of 7:27.22, followed by Shane Madden and Mark Gerban in a 7:30.52.
Princeton Training Center's Mike Altman and Paul Teti won the final of the lightweight men's pair. The duo finished with a time of 7:37.18, edging out teammates Matt Smith and Pat Todd by 0.54 seconds. PTC's Steve Warner and Simon Carcagno finished third in a 7:37.96.
The NSR's and the Olympic Trials are sponsored by the National Rowing Foundation as part of their support of the 2004 Olympic Team.