Add two more names to the list of athletes that have qualified for a place on the 2015 United States world championship rowing team.
Vesper Boat Club lightweight women double scullers Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif.) and Devery Karz (Park City, Utah) took bronze in the final at World Rowing Cup 3 in Lucerne, Switzerland Sunday. The national selection regatta winners needed at least a fourth place finish to earn nominations to the team that will compete at the 2015 World Rowing Championships August 29-Sept. 6, 2015 in Aiguebelette, France.
Sechser and Karz finished third in 6:58.71. New Zealand won in 6:55.06 and South Africa was second in 6:56.60.
"It's an incredible feeling to see the hard work pay off," Sechser said. "It was a dogfight of a race, but both Coach Parker's training and training against a pack of Vesper boats back home had us prepared for this. We never lost faith in our ability and attacked relentlessly until the very last stroke of the race. It was a good test of performance before we get back to work in preparation for the world championships."
It was the second medal performance for the U.S. on the final day of competition in Lucenre. Women's single sculler Gevvie Stone (Newton, Mass.) capped her European world cup adventure with another medal, a bronze to add to the silver she won in World Rowing Cup 2 in Varese, Italy in June.
Stone stayed in Europe following that regatta to train and race at Lucerne with the hope that a good performance this weekend would move her up the rankings and help with seeding into the world championships.
Stone finished third in 7:32.58. Australia's Kim Crow won in 7:21.58 and Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic was second in 7:28.99.
The last crew competing at the regatta, Craftsbury Sculling Center's USA1 entry of John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Benjamin Dann (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) rowed in the B final of the men's double sculls and finished fourth. The national selection regatta winners needed a top seven finish to earn nomination to the U.S. squad.
The event will now be contested at the 2015 Senior 11 World Championship Trials, August 2-5, 2015 West Windsor, N.J. "Back home and back to work," Graves said.