Photo: Nicole Ritchie, Mary Maginnis, Lindsay Meyer and Esther Lofgren won gold in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2014 USRowing National Championships on Friday.
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Close competition, collisions and Willy Cowles (Farmington, Conn.) highlighted the Friday finals of the 2014 USRowing National Championships. Potomac Boat Club’s Cowles became a national champion in all three events he competed in at the 2014 USRowing National Championships.
Cowles started off the day with a gold medal performance in the men’s single sculls, clocking a time of 7:41.31. In his second race, Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) joined him in the men’s double sculls and the duo brought home a national title with a time of 6:50.24. After two successful races, Cowles completed the trifecta with a win in the men’s quadruple sculls alongside his doubles partner Stitt, Jameson Harper (Flemmington, N.J.) and Taylor Frank (Pasadena, Calif.) clocking a time of 6:18.83.
“It’s been a long morning,” said Cowles. “It was good, and I had this guy [pointing to Stitt] pulling me down in the second two.”
“It was good in the double, just trying to get that long rhythm, keeping the quad race in mind,” said Stitt. “But also setting out on the short term goal for Willy to get the trifecta was in the back of our heads. In all races, we got into a rhythm and went with it. It just clicked and it was great.”
In the final of the men’s double, Cowles and Stitt were the clear winners to claim the national title. A collision in the last 150 meters between California Rowing Club and GMS Rowing Center caused GMS to be excluded from the final results. The California double finished fifth overall.
On the women’s side, Seattle Rowing Center’s Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) and Vesper Boat Club’s Nicole Ritchie (East Drummerston, Vt.) each left the regatta with three medals from their finals. Meyer won the national title in the women’s single sculls and women’s quad, and took home the silver medal with Ritchie in the women’s double. Ritchie was also a part of national champion quad and finished third in the women’s single.
“It was good,” Meyer said. “It was fun to get out and race again and again, and again.”
“It was a new experience, and that’s always a good thing,” said Ritchie. “It was also fun and a great story.”
Canada’s Kerry Shaffer (Welland, Ontario) rowing for the National Training Center - Ontario crossed the finish line first in the women’s single sculls with a time of 8:33.32, but as a Canadian citizen, was ineligible to collect the gold medal.
The men’s four was one of the most exciting finals of the day with the top three boats all finishing within two seconds of each other. The USRowing Training Center - Princeton A entry won the national title with a time of 6:21.59, followed closely by the USRowing Training Center - Princeton K boat in second with 6:22.85. Oklahoma City Riversport A took home the bronze with a time of 6:24.10.
The men’s pair race featured a plethora of USRowing Training Center athletes who train out of both Oklahoma City and Princeton. The pair of Ian Silvera (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Nick Lucey (San Francisco, Calif.), representing the USRowing Training Center - Princeton, claimed the national title.
“The race was good. We did what we wanted to do, and our plan was to really attack the middle thousand, especially the third 500,” said Silvera. “We got to the last 500 and just kinda held what we had.”
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