WEST WINDSOR, N.J., May 8, 2005 - Julie Nichols of Seattle's Pocock Rowing Center (www.pocockrowing.org) notched her first win of 2005 U.S. national team selection process Sunday with a 2.57 second victory in the finals of the lightweight single sculls at the first USRowing National Selection Regatta on Lake Mercer near Princeton, N.J.
Rowing at 33 strokes-per-minute with a light cross-tailwind, Nichols worked back from a fourth place start to overtake Wendy Campanella of Philadelphia's Vesper Boat in the final 500 meters of the 2,000 meter race. She clocked a 7:50.54 for the victory followed by Campanella in 7:53.11. Occoquan Boat Club's Melissa Rice was third with Penn AC's Renee Hykel, Heather Moon and Layne Salter rounding out the final.
For Nichols, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, the win was satisfying as she achieved her personal best time on Lake Mercer and was eight seconds ahead of the event's 7:58 time standard that she would need to meet at July's national team trials to earn a spot on the U.S. team that will compete at this summer's World Championships in Gifu, Japan.
'I was a little nervous being down at the start,' said Nichols a two-time member of the U.S. National Rowing Team, who worked back to second position at the mid-way point. 'I felt confident with my speed and I knew I had another gear. As long as I had contact (with the rest of the field), I knew I could execute my race plan.'
In the final 500 meters, Nichols increased her pace to 36 strokes-per-minute to overtake Campanella for the win. 'Wendy is fast, but when I shifted my rate up, I didn't see a response so I knew I had it. This is a great start to the season.'
In other National Selection Regatta action, Pocock's Lia Pernell, a member of the U.S. National Team that competed at the 2004 World Championships, finished second in the women's single sculls missing an automatic bid for the U.S. team
Pernell, who finished 8.85 seconds down to 2004 Olympian Michelle Guerette, will now attempt to qualify for the U.S. team through the second National Selection Regatta in June. Guerette's time-standard qualifying time of 7:40.37 now gives her the option of representing the U.S. in the event at the world championships.
Other NSR winners include Rich Montgomery of the New York Athletic Club in the lightweight men's single sculls and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Wyatt Allen, also of the New York Athletic Club, in the men's single sculls.
The National Selection Regatta includes 119 athletes representing 35 rowing clubs from around the United States who are vying for spots on the U.S. team that will compete at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships Aug. 28-Sept. 4 in Gifu, Japan.
The National Selection Regatta includes races in four men's and women's single sculls events with the winners of the men's and women's open weight single sculls automatically earning spots on the national team without further selection if they meet the time standard during the regatta. A second National Selection Regatta will take place June 10 for double sculls and pairs events followed by the U.S. National Team Trials July 13 - 18.