PRINCETON, N.J. – Racing at the
2014 USRowing National Selection Regatta 2 got underway Thursday on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Time trials were contested in the men’s and women’s double sculls, men’s pair and lightweight men’s and women’s double sculls. The top crews advanced to Friday’s semifinals, scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Full results posted
here.
Winning crews at NSR 2 will have the opportunity to race at a World Rowing Cup event and earn a spot on the team that will represent the U.S. at the 2014 World Rowing Championships, August 24-31, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In the women’s double sculls, USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City Beijing Olympian
Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and teammate
Meghan O’Leary (Baton Rouge, La.) posted the fastest time. Tomek and O’Leary, who finished seventh in the event last summer at the 2013 World Rowing Championships, clocked a 6:49.67.
The Southern California Scullers Club-Cambridge Boat Club composite entry of
Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) and London Olympian and NSR 1 single winner,
Gevvie Stone (Newton, Mass.) posted a 6:53.61 in second. Riverside Boat Club’s
Molly Hamrick (Tampa, Fla.) and
Hayley Daniell (Hopkinton, N.H.) rounded out the top three finishers with a time of 6:58.20.
Next up in the men’s double sculls, Craftsbury Sculling Center’s
Benjamin Dann (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and
John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted the winning time of 6:15.49. Dann and Graves finished 10th in the event at the 2013 World Rowing Championships. Crossing second was Potomac Boat Club’s 2008 Olympian in the men’s quad,
Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and
Willy Cowles (Farmington, Conn.). Stitt and Cowles finished fourth in the event at the 2014 World Rowing Cup #1 in Sydney.
Craftsbury’s
Stephen Whelpley (Mequon, Wis.), who finished 13th in the single at the 2013 world championships and won the men’s single event at NSR 1, and London Olympian
Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) crossed third in a 6:21.57.
In the time trial of the men’s pair, California Rowing Club’s
Nicholas Lucey (San Francisco, Calif.) and
David Eick (Raleigh, N.C.) posted the top time of 6:30.42. Lucey and Eick were closely followed by USRowing Training Center – Princeton’s
Tom Dethlefs (Lawrenceville, N.J.) and
Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.) in 6:31.11 and the USTC – Princeton pair of
Matthew Miller (Springfield, Va.) and
Rob Munn (Redmond, Wash.) in 6:31.17.
California Rowing Club also topped the results for the lightweight women’s double sculls time trial, with
Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.) and
Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) winning in a 6:59.94. Bertko, a four-time national team athlete and 2013 USRowing Female Athlete of the Year, and London Olympian Hedstrom won silver in this event at the 2013 World Rowing Championships.
Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif.) and
Devery Karz (Park City, Utah) of USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City were close behind in second with a time of 7:00.84. Sechser finished seventh in the lightweight women’s single at the 2013 World Rowing Championships and won the event at the 2014 NSR 1.
In the lightweight men’s double sculls, the Cambridge Boat Club-Green Racing Project composite entry of
Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) and
Joshua Konieczny (Millbury, Ohio) posted the fastest time in 6:21.41. Meyer finished 12th in the lightweight men’s double at the 2013 World Rowing Championships and Konieczny finished sixth in the lightweight four at the 2013 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Craftsbury Sculling Center’s
Hugh McAdam (Grantham, N.H.) and
Kyle Lafferty (Hockessin, Del.) crossed second in 6:31.83.
National selection regattas are the first step toward making the national team. The winners of the five events will earn the right to compete at one or both of the scheduled 2014 World Rowing Cup events.
The winners of the men’s pair, the men’s and women’s doubles and the lightweight men’s double must finish in the top six at a 2014 World Cup, or top half if there are fewer than 12 entries in the event, to be named to the world championship team.
For the lightweight women’s double, the crew will need to finish in the top four at a 2014 World Rowing Cup, or top half if there are fewer than eight entries, to earn a national team berth.
Racing continues with semifinals Friday morning at 7:30 a.m.; A and B finals are scheduled for Saturday morning beginning at 7:00 a.m.
Links