WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Finals are set for Saturday with the completion of semifinals at the 2010 USRowing National Selection Regatta #2 and Speed Order May 13-15 at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The regatta features competition in the women's double sculls, men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, women's pair, men's pair and lightweight men's pair.
Racing in the first semifinal of the men's double sculls, USRowing Training Center - Princeton's Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) and Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded the fastest time of the morning. Anderson and Ochal crossed the 1,000-meter mark with a 3.3-second lead over Craftsbury Sculling Center's Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and continued to pull away from the field to win in a 6:26.144. The Graves duo was in third position at the halfway point, but came back in the final stretch to finish more than seven seconds ahead of the Penn A.C./GMS crew of Stephen Whelpley (Moquon, Wis.) and Joe Spencer. The Graves brothers clocked a 6:30.161, with Whelpley and Spencer third in a 6:37.466. USRowing Training Center - Chula Vista's Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.) and Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.) won the second semifinal by 1.3 seconds. Gault and Miller crossed the line in a 6:32.676, with teammates Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.) and Wes Piermarini (West Brookfield, Mass.) second in a 6:36.831. The NYAC/GMS duo of Jamie Koven (Green Village, N.J.) and Michael Sivigny (Hudson, N.H.) posted a time of 6:36.831 for third.
In the men's pair, USRowing Training Center - Chula Vista's Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.) and Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) posted the fastest time in the second of two semifinals. Walsh and Rummel sat in third at the 1,000-meter mark before moving through USTC - Princeton's Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) and USTC - Princeton's Silas Stafford (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.) for the win. Walsh and Rummel clocked a 6:40.330. Newlin and Banks edged out Stafford and Coppola by 0.74 seconds, finishing second in a 6:41.063. Stafford and Coppola, who were first across the halfway mark, finished third in a 6:41.806. USRowing Training Center - Princeton's Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and Jake Cornelius (Brooktondale, N.Y.) led from wire-to-wire to win the first semifinal by 1.9 seconds. Cole and Cornelius posted a time of 6:40.877, with USTC - OKC's Ryan Monaghan (Wilmette, Ill.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) second with a time of 6:42.747. The USTC - P/USTC - CV crew of Mike Holbrook (Madison, Wis.) and Jason Read (Ringoes, N.J.) was in second place crossing over the 1,000-meter mark, but slipped into third in the second half of the course, clocking a 6:43.940.
After winning yesterday's time trial of the lightweight men's single sculls, the USTC - P/GMS duo of Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.) and Jon Winter (New Haven, Conn.) turned around to win Friday's first semifinal in a 6:34.657. De Regt and Winter gained a 3.4-second lead over USRowing Training Center - Princeton/Undine Barge Club's Andrew Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) by the halfway point. Quinn and Urevick-Ackelsberg finished second in a 6:37.833, followed by Vesper Boat Club's Matt Bokermann () and Dan Scholtz (Springfield, Ore.) in a 6:43.42. In the second semifinal, USTC - P/Pocock Rowing Center's Kenny McMahon (Ladysmith, Wis.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) led from the start to win in a 6:39.591. McMahon and Madden finished 1.8 seconds ahead of Jon D'Alba (Berwyn, Pa.) and Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) of the Bachelor's Barge Club, who crossed second in a 6:41.301. Vesper Boat Club's Greg Kaplan and Michael Vuksich clocked a 6:44.855, rounding out the top three crews.
USRowing Training Center - Princeton/Pocock Rowing Center's Will Daly (Vail, Colo.) and Jimmy Sopko (Mathews, Va.) won the final of the lightweight men's pair by 3.4 seconds. The duo crossed the 1,000-meter mark with more than a second lead over USTC - P/Pocock's Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.) and Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.) before taking it to the finish line in a 6:45.611. LaCava and Fahden clocked a 6:49.086, followed by Riverside Boat Club's Skip Dise (Beverly Hills, Mich.) and Dorian Weber in a 6:54.804.
Finals of the men's and women's open weight pairs, doubles and lightweight doubles will be held Saturday starting at 7 a.m. Watch racing live on the Team USA Rowing Channel beginning at 7 a.m. EDT Saturday, May 15 at http://rowing.teamusa.org/live. For complete results, visit www.powerhousetimeing.com.
For all four double sculls and the open weight pairs, the regatta serves as the first step towards making the 2010 Senior National Team that will represent the United States at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand. The winner of each event will earn the right to compete at a world cup race of their choosing. If the NSR #2 winner finishes in the top four (or top half if there are fewer than eight entries) at the world cup, then the crew will be nominated to the team. For the lightweight men's pair, NSR #2 serves as an opportunity for athletes to test their speed in preparation for selection camps and trials.