The second 2006 National Selection Regatta (NSR) got underway on Friday at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J., with time trials and heats in the men's and women's double sculls and time trials in two other boat classes.
After winning the morning time trial, the women's double sculls tandem of Susan Francia and Brett Sickler clocked the fastest time of the evening heats. Racing in the first of three heats, the Princeton Training Center/Potomac Boat Club duo clocked a 7:40.97 to finish nearly 14 seconds ahead of the PTC/Vesper Boat Club entry of Mae Joyce Gay and Anne Holmes. PTC's Caryn Davies and Anne Browning finished third in a 7:57.02. Ala Piotrowski and Jennifer Kaido won the second heat. The Saugatuck Rowing Center/PTC duo finished with a time of 7:50.34, followed by PTC's Liane Malcos and Lia Pernell in a 7:52.46. PTC's Margot Shumway and Nicole Sylvester won the third heat in an 8:00.31, while Potomac Boat Club's Margaret Matia and Elizabeth Mygatt finished second in an 8:01.93. The top four finishers in each heat moved on to the semifinals.
Racing in the third of three heats, Princeton Training Center's Sam Stitt and J. Sloan DuRoss clocked the fastest time of the evening. The duo crossed the finish line with a time of 7:07.39. Vesper Boat Club's Jonathan Burns and Shane O'Mara finished second in a 7:10.01, followed by the Union/Riverside duo of Steve Tucker and Greg Ruckman in a 7:12.56. In the first heat, PTC's Wyatt Allen and Matt Hughes clocked a 7:12.82 to finish four seconds ahead of the Pocock/Durham duo of Josh Brown and Deaglan McEachern. Brown and McEachern finished three seconds ahead of Matthew Henwood and Andrew Grzybowski. The Pocock/Princeton duo of Mark Flickenger and Francis Cuddy won the second heat in a time of 7:14.36. Gentle Giant Rowing Club's Ken Jurkowski and Dan Walsh finished second in a 7:19.70, followed by New York Athletic Club's John Wachter and Gabe Winkler. The top four finishers in each heat advanced to the semifinals. In the men's pair time trial, the Princeton Training Center tandem of Josh Inman and Brett Newlin clocked a 7:02.96 to finish more than four seconds ahead of PTC teammates Chris Liwski and Michael Blomquist, who crossed the finish line in a 7:06.98. PTC's Matt Deakin and Beau Hoopman finished third in a 7:11.15, while teammates Sam Burns and Dan Beery finished fourth. All 12 crews advanced to Saturday morning's heats.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, the Penn AC duo of Julie Nichols and Renee Hykel clocked the fastest time of the time trial to earn the top seed in the heats. Nichols and Hykel, who won a silver medal in the event at the 2005 World Championships in Gifu, Japan, clocked a 7:47.92 to finish nearly 20 seconds ahead of Pocock Elite Sculling Team's Abelyn Broughton and Britton Nixon. The Pocock crew finished with a time of 8:07.48. Union Boat Club's Ann Young and Claudia Wagner finished third in an 8:10.76, followed by Vesper Boat Club's Samantha Twardowski and Melissa Rice. All nine crews advanced to Saturday morning's heats.
The national selection regattas are one step towards making the 2006 National Team, which will compete at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Championships August 20-27 in Eton, England. NSR 2 includes races in seven boat classes: the men's and women's double sculls, men's and women's lightweight double sculls, men's and women's pair, and lightweight men's pair. The winners of the three women's events will automatically make the national team without further selection if they meet the time standard during the NSR or at a subsequent event held before July 12. If they do not meet the time standard or do not accept the berth on the team, the boat category will be opened up to all competitors at the 2006 World Championships Team Trials scheduled for July 31-August 5. In the remaining four boat classes, NSR 2 serves as an opportunity for athletes to test their speed early in the season in preparation for future selection regattas, selection camps, and trials.
NSR 2 racing continues on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. with the remaining heats and semifinals. Finals will be held on Sunday morning.