INDIANAPOLIS - Eleven crews came one step closer to making this year's Pan American Games Team on Monday after winning their races on the first day of finals at the 2003 Pan American Games Team Trials at Eagle Creek Park.
Similar to Major League Baseball's World Series or a National Basketball Association playoff series, a crew must win two of three finals' races in order to earn the right to represent the United States at the 2003 Pan American Games to be held August 4-10 on Rincon Lake in the Dominican Republic.
In the men's four, the Princeton Training Center crew of Luke McGee, Justin Bosley, Beau Hoopman, and Paul Daniels clocked a 6:22.24 to easily win the first final. The PTC crew moved away from the field during the second quarter of the race and finished 7.05 seconds ahead of the Harvard University crew. Penn Athletic Club finished 0.27 seconds behind Harvard. All three crews will race in Tuesday's second final.
Potomac Boat Club's Katie Madigan and Catherine Humblet cruised to a victory in the first final of the women's double sculls. Madigan and Humblet clocked a 7:21.64 to defeat Pocock Rowing Center's Carol Skricki and Anne Browning by 9.31 seconds. Augusta Rowing Club's "A" boat of Lisa Johnson and Beth Greene finished third in a time of 7:32.67, followed by the Princeton Training Center crew of Frederique Garnier and Lia Pernell. The top three crews advanced to the second final.
In the men's single sculls, Ann Arbor Rowing Club's Mike Perry stroked a 7:28.44 to defeat New York Athletic Club's Andrew Liverman by 5.05 seconds in the first final. Liverman finished in a 7:33.49, followed by Potomac's Patrick O'Hea in a 7:39.63. Undine Barge Club's Ferdinand Bergen finished fourth. The top three crews now will race in Tuesday's second final.
Lake Washington Rowing Club's Tyler Peterson and Evan Jacobs edged Undine Barge Club's "A" boat of Greg Kaplan and Tom Sullivan by 0.91 seconds in the first final. The unaffiliated duo of Tamas Toro and Evan Gibson clipped Undine's "B" boat of Jon D'Alba and Sean Maloney by 0.45 seconds to claim the third and last spot in the second final.
In the first final of the lightweight women's double sculls, Princeton Training Center's Michelle Borkhuis and Maria Picone finished with a time of 7:35.27, 4.47 seconds ahead of Undine Barge Club's Meghan Sarbanis and Renee Hykel. Potomac/Pocock's Julie Nichols and Ale Phillips finished third, more than nine seconds behind Undine. Amy Scott and Monica Downer from Long Beach Rowing Association/Austin Rowing Club finished fourth. The top three boats advanced to Tuesday's second final.
Augusta Rowing Club's "A" boat of Stephen Arthur-Wong, Shawn Stephenson, Tim Larson and Michael Aller easily defeated their club teammates to win the first final of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls. The Augusta "A" boat clocked a 6:13.81 to win by 7.29 seconds. Riverside Boat Club finished third. All three crews will race in Tuesday's second final.
Princeton Training Center's "B" entry of Adam Holland and Chris Liwski won the first final of the men's pair. The duo finished with a time of 7:02.13, 1.77 seconds ahead of the California's "B" boat of Graham Taylor and Eric Tiret. Taylor and Tiret finished in a 7:03.90. Princeton's "A" boat of Andrew Brennan and Justin Jones finished third in a 7:07.61, followed by California Rowing Association's "A" entry of Brett Winfield and Zack Johnson. The top three boats advanced to the second final.
Augusta Rowing Club's Cindy Bishop had no trouble winning the first final of the women's single sculls. Bishop clocked an 8:17.03 to finish 6.24 seconds ahead of Ala Piotrowski. Megan Cooke finished third in a time of 8:32.25, followed by Riverside's Ann Holmes and New York Athletic Club/Princeton Training Center's Emily Kreger. The top three finishers advanced to Tuesday's second final.
In the men's double sculls, the Princeton Training Center/Penn AC tandem of Chris Grothkopp and Bill Martin-Doyle clocked a 6:53.55 to win the first final. Pocock Rowing Center's J. Sloan DuRoss and Conal Groom finished second in a 6:55.21, followed by Penn AC's Jack Nunn and Dana Schmunk in a 6:56.84. Vesper Boat Club's Jon Burns and Paul Falcigno finished fourth. The top three crews will race in tomorrow's second final.
The Potomac/Pocock entry of Wendy Campanella, Jen Edwards, Sarah Hirst and Anne Finke won the first final of the lightweight women's quadruple sculls. The quartet clocked a 7:12.77 to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of Austin Rowing Club's Layne Salter, Monica Downer, Heather Moon, and Amy Scott. Both crews will race in Tuesday's second final.
In the lightweight women's single sculls, Melissa Rice easily won the first final, clocking an 8:31.10 to finish 7.77 seconds ahead of Union Boat Club's Catherine Infantino. Cambridge Boat Club's Abigail Cromwell finished third in an 8:46.45, while Augusta Rowing Club's Melanie Borger finished fourth. The top three crews advanced to the second final.
In addition to the 12 events, the Pan American Games' crews in the men's quadruple sculls and men's eight will be selected this week. The winner of the men's double sculls and the top two finishers in the men's single sculls will make up the men's quad, while the winner of the men's four and the top two finishers in the men's pair will make up the men's eight.
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2003 Pan American Games Team Trials Sunday, June 22, 2003
Men's Four Final 1: Princeton Training Center, 06:22:24; 2: Harvard University, 06:29:29; 3: Penn AC, 06:29:56.
Women's Double Sculls Final 1: Potomac B.C., 07:21:64; 2: Pocock Rowing Center, 07:30:95; 3: Augusta Rowing Club-A, 07:32:67; 4: Princeton Training Center, 07:41:46.
Men's Single Sculls Final 1: Ann Arbor Rowing Club, 07:28:44; 2: New York A.C., 07:33:49; 3: Potomac B.C., 07:39:63; 4: Undine Barge Club, 07:48:00.
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls Final 1: Lake Washington R.C., 06:55:74; 2: Undine Barge Club-A, 06:56:65; 3: Unaffiliated, 07:06:89; 4: Undine Barge Club-B, 07:07:34.
Lightweight Women's Double Sculls Final 1: Princeton Training Center, 07:35:27; 2: Undine Barge Club, 07:39:74; 3: Potomac B.C.-POCOCK, 07:49:22; 4: Austin Rowing Club-LONGBECH, 07:55:68.
Lightweight Men's Quadruple Sculls Final 1: Augusta Rowing Club-A, 06:13:81; 2: Augusta Rowing Club-B, 06:21:10; 3: Riverside B.C., 06:23:55.
Men's Pair Final 1: Princeton Training Center-B, 07:02:13; 2: California Rowing Assn-B, 07:03:90; 3: Princeton Training Center-A, 07:07:61; 4: California Rowing Assn-A, 07:12:97.
Women's Single Sculls Final 1: Augusta Rowing Club-A, 08:17:03; 2: Unaffiliated, 08:23:27; 3: Unaffiliated, 08:32:25; 4: Riverside B.C., 08:36:13; 5: New York A.C.-PTC, 08:36:46.
Men's Double Sculls Final 1: Princeton Training Center-PENN AC, 06:53:55; 2: Pocock Rowing Center, 06:55:21; 3: Penn AC, 06:56:84; 4: Vesper B.C., 07:10:55.
Lightweight Women's Quadruple Sculls Final 1: Potomac B.C.-POCOCK, 07:12:77; 2: Austin Rowing Club, 07:22:96.
Lightweight Women's Single Sculls Final 1: Unaffiliated, 08:31:10; 2: Union BC, 08:38:87; 3: Cambridge Boat Club, 08:46:45; 4: Augusta Rowing Club, 08:54:46.