The first 2007 National Selection Regatta (NSR) will be held April 6-8 at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The national selection regattas are the first step towards making the 2007 National Team, which will compete at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Championships August 26-September 2 in Munich, Germany.
NSR I will include races in six boat classes - the men's and women's single sculls, the men's and women's lightweight single sculls, and the men's and women's pair. The winner of the men's and women's open weight single sculls will automatically make the national team without further selection if they meet a minimum performance standard during the NSR or at a subsequent event held before July 17. If they do not meet the standard or do not accept the berth on the team, the boat category will be opened up to all competitors at the 2007 World Championships Team Trials scheduled for July 20-August 3. In the remaining four boat classes, NSR I serves as an opportunity for athletes to test their speed early in the season in preparation for future selection regattas and trials.
The men's single sculls event leads the way in numbers of entries with 33. The field contains several 2006 National Team members including Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.), who finished 12th in the single sculls at the worlds championships. Other 2006 team members racing in the event include Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.), Shane O'Mara (Tampa, Fla.), Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Gabe Winkler (St. Johnsbury, Vt.). Four former Olympians are scheduled to race: Schroeder, Ruckman, Ian McGowan (Snohomish, Wash.), and Nick Peterson (Alexandria, Va.).
Thirty women are entered in the women's single sculls. Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.), who finished fifth in the event at last year's world championships and won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships, leads a field that includes four other 2006 National Team members: Jennifer Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.), Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.), and Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.). The field includes several other past national team members, as well as Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.), who won a bronze medal in the event at the 2006 FISA World Junior Championships.
Twenty-eight women are entered in the lightweight women's single sculls event. Lisa Schlenker (Lake Oswego, Ore.), a two-time world medalist in the event who finished sixth at last year's world championships, heads a field that includes three members of last year's national team. The other two returning team members entered in the event are Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.), who finished ninth in the lightweight women's double sculls at last year's world championships. In addition, five other past national team members are scheduled to race.
The lightweight men's single sculls event has 27 entries including 11 past national team members. Seven members of the 2006 National Team are scheduled to race including Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.), Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.), Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.), Rich Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.), Evan Price (Butler, Pa.), Sam Saylor (San Diego, Calif.), and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.).
Seven crews are entered in the women's pair. The field includes all eight rowers from the women's eight that won a gold medal and set a new world's best time at the 2006 World Championships: Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.), and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.). Pairings with 2006 National Team members include Davies and Lind; Mickelson and Francia; Goodale and Cooke; Shoop and 2004 Olympian Megan Dirkmaat (San Jose, Calif.); and Sickler and 2006 World Championships women's four bronze medalist Portia Johnson (Seattle, Wash.).
Four crews from Penn A.C. Rowing Association are entered in the men's pair. Pat Godfrey (Gorham, Maine) and Ted Farwell (Madison, Wis.) are the only two members of the 2006 National Team entered in the event.
NSR I racing begins on Friday, May 7, with morning time trials and afternoon heats. Semifinals and select finals will be held on Saturday, with the remaining finals being held on Sunday morning.
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