WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Most people enjoy bypassing the repechage stage of racing. The freedom to spend an afternoon taking a well deserved nap, staying out of the sun and a chance to recover sounds like any rowers paradise. This was not the case for GMS Rowing Center's Michaela Copenhaver (New Milford, Conn.).
"Last year I went to the reps and ended up having a fabulous final," said Copenhaver. "ToCopenhaver me it wasn't an issue if I had to go to the reps today because it just meant it was another opportunity for me to race. I am actually bummed that I don't get the extra race in the single but I look forward to having the afternoon off."
Having spent much of the earlier part of the week racing in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls at the 2015 Under 23 & Senior I World Championships Trials, Copenhaver secured the second automatic grand final spot for the lightweight women's single with a time of 7:54.420.
Racing at the 2015 USRowing National Championships continued Thursday morning with heats in the men's and women's single sculls, the lightweight men's and women's single sculls and the men's double sculls.
The three-day event runs June 24-26, on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., and features elite-level competition in 15 events, with more than 101 entries from 27 clubs from across the U.S. and Canada.
The top finisher of the men's and women's single sculls, the lightweight men's and women's single sculls and the men's double sculls achieved an automatic berth into Friday morning's grand final. All other competitors from this morning's heats advanced into the repechage stage set for Thursday evening beginning at 5 p.m.
In the first heat of the morning, seven-time national team member and Southern California Scullers Club's Stesha Carlé (Long Beach, Calif.) claimed the first finals spot of the morning after finishing the heat in 7:44.166
After taking a close second place in the time trials, London Training Center's Emily Cameron (Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada) secured the second automatic spot in the women's single sculls grand final with a time of 7:49.038.
With an open-water lead at the thousand-meter mark, Beijing Olympian and Craftsbury Boat Club's Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) was able to hold off fellow club member and 2015 Under 23 team member, Craftsbury's Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla.). Graves finished 3.288 seconds ahead of Davison with a time of 7:04.683 after Davison opened into a sprint early to attempt to catch up to his teammate.
In the second heat of the men's single, Craftsbury's Erik Frid (Madbury, N.H.) was able to push his bow ball in front of his teammate Tom Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) to finish .648 seconds ahead to claim the second automatic spot into the grand final with Peter Graves.
"In the past month since Pan Am trials, we've had a great group up in Craftsbury," saidFrid Double Frid. "We've just been racing every other day. Being out there today, I was just used to being right next to those guys. A lot of Craftsbury entries did really well today, so it is good to see our hardwork off.
Frid would enjoy a short break on land before returning to the water with fellow Craftsbury teammate Adrew Reed (Wayland, Mass.) to win the first heat of the men's double sculls with a time of 6:34.601.
Frid has had sculling success at the international level after finishing 14th in the double sculls at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
In the first heat of the women's lightweight single, Potomac Boat Club's Morgan McGovern (San Francisco, Calif.) posted one of the largest victory margins of the morning as she finished with a time of 7:52.875, nearly 20-seconds ahead of Southern California Scullers Club's Kathryn Shiro (Huntsville, Ala.)
Posting the largest victory-margin for the men's heats of the morning, Riverside BoatGeorgeson Club's Jacob Georgeson (North Olmsted, Ohio) pulled away with an early lead to eventually win the heat with a time of 7:17.220.
Friday will have a Vermont feel to it as the third of four Craftsbury boats qualified for the grand final with Hugh McAdam's 7:24.068 victory in the second heat of the lightweight men's single.
Still attached at the 500-meter mark, the Potomac crew of Chris Massey (Mills, Mass.) and Justin Keen (Philadelphia, Pa.) were able to hold off the Craftsbury crew of 2015 Under 23 Team members Ned Benning (Weston, Mass.) and Davison to secure the second automatic spot for the final of the men's double sculls with a time of 6:35.001.
Racing at the 2015 USRowing National Championships continues Thursday evening at 5 p.m., with repechages in the men's and women's single sculls, lightweight men's and women's single sculls and men's double sculls.
Mercer Lake, located in Mercer County Park in West Windsor, N.J., is home to the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center and the Princeton National Rowing Association, which operates a world-class training site for the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as local rowing clubs and schools. The venue has played host to Olympic Trials in 1988, 1992, 2004, 2008 and 2012, as well as top collegiate events including the IRA Championships and NCAA Women's Rowing Championships.