The United States will have 12 boats competing at the 2003 Bearing World Cup stop June 20-22 in Munich, Germany.
Based on USRowing's selection procedures and their performance at the second National Selection Regatta (NSR), four crews racing this weekend have the opportunity to earn berths on the 2003 National Team that will compete at the 2003 FISA World Championships August 24-31 in Milan, Italy. A top six finish in Munich gives those crews the option of representing the U.S. at the world championships or going back into selection for a different boat. If the crew does not finish in the top six or chooses not to accept the berth on the national team, that boat class will be contested at the 2003 USRowing National Team Trials July 10-15 in Princeton, N.J.
Both the lightweight men's and lightweight women's double sculls winners from the second NSR will be competing in Munich for the right to represent the U.S. at the world championships. The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Steve Tucker (Mooresville, Ind.) and Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio) has a combined 10 years of national team experience. The 2000 Olympians last raced together internationally at the 1998 FISA World Championships, where they finished ninth in the lightweight double sculls. The duo will face 19 other crews in a strong field.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, Lisa Schlenker (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Rachel Anderson (Darien, Conn.) edged out Stacey Borgman (Homer, Alaska) and Mary Obidinski (Oneonta, N.Y.) by 0.3 seconds at the second NSR to earn the opportunity to race for a spot on the national team in Munich. Although both crews will race in Germany, Schlenker and Anderson are the only ones who can earn a national team berth in the event this weekend. Schlenker, a six-time national team member, has won three medals at the world championships, while Anderson won a gold medal in the lightweight pair in her only national team appearance in 1999. Borgman and Obidinski represented the U.S. in the event at last year's world championships. The two U.S. crews will face 19 additional boats in Munich.
The women's pair of Lianne Nelson (Seattle, Wash.) and Katie Hammes (LaCrosse, Wis.) also won the second NSR and has the opportunity to make this year's national team. Nelson, a six-time national team member and 2000 Olympian, and Hammes, a one-time national team member, are one of three U.S. pairs entered in the eight-boat field. The other U.S. entries include the duo of Kate Johnson (Portland, Ore.) and Wendy Wilbur (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and the tandem of Whitney Webber (Sacramento, Calif.) and Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.). All four were members of the 2002 National Team.
Like Nelson and Hammes, the women's double sculls duo of Danika Harris (Durham, N.H.) and Sarah Jones (Stanwood, Wash.) won its race at the second NSR and now has the opportunity to make the national team this weekend. Harris and Jones, who were members of the women's quadruple sculls crew that represented the U.S. at last year's world championships, are coming off a sixth-place finish in the double sculls at the first world cup stop held two weeks ago in Milan. The crew of Laurel Korholz (La Jolla, Calif.) and Hilary Gehman (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and the boat of Kelly Salchow (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Laura Rauchfuss (Riverside, Conn.), all multiple-time national team members, join Harris and Jones in the 11-boat field.
Several other crews will race this weekend but do not have the opportunity to make the national team. In addition to racing in the double sculls, Harris, Jones, Korholz and Gehman will race in the quadruple sculls as well. The crew finished fourth at the world cup stop in Milan and will be vying for the medal stand with seven additional crews. The top three finishers from Milan - the Ukraine, Germany and Belarus - are all scheduled to compete in Munich.
The U.S. women's eight of Mary Whipple (Orangevale, Calif.), Ali Cox (Turlock, Calif.), Jennifer Dore-Terhaar (Kearny, N.J.), Dana Peirce (Richmond, Va.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Maite Urtasun (Riverside, N.J.), Megan Dirkmaat (San Jose, Calif.), Wilbur and Johnson will face two other crews in Munich. All nine women have national team experience, led by two-time Olympian Dore-Terhaar's eight national team appearances. The U.S., which won the world championship last year in the eight, is coming off a gold medal-performance in the first world cup race.
The lightweight men's four of Steve Warner (Novi, Mich.), Paul Teti (Upper Darby, Pa.), Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.) and Erik Miller (Renton, Wash.) won a bronze medal at the world cup stop in Milan and will try to improve on its position in Munich. The crew, which has 17 national team appearances between them, will face 15 other boats this weekend.
The U.S. also will race in the lightweight men's pair. Two-time national team members Eric Feins (Rochester, N.Y.) and Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio) will face six other crews in the event.