WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Finals are now set at the 2005 World Championships Trials following Friday morning's racing on Lake Mercer.
In the semifinals of the men's single sculls, New York Athletic Club's Wyatt Allen recorded the fastest time of the morning. Racing in the first of two semifinals, Allen clocked a time of 7:13.64 to finish more than seven seconds ahead of Ann Arbor Rowing Club's Mike Perry. Perry finished with a time of 7:21.05. Adam Holland from Harvard University Boat Club finished third, followed by Penn Athletic Club's Tolsun Waddle. In the second semifinal, Union Boat Club's Steve Tucker recorded a time of 7:14.43, defeating Princeton Training Center's Jamie Schroeder by less than three seconds. Schroeder finished with a time of 7:17.13. Providence Training Center's Erik Winters finished third, followed by New York Athletic Club's Gabe Winkler. The top two finishers from each semifinal moved on to Saturday's first final.
Riverside Boat Club's Marika Page clocked the fastest time in the semifinals of the lightweight women's single sculls. Page won the first semifinal with a time of 8:01.75, finishing more than 11 seconds ahead of Penn AC's Maria Picone. Picone finished with a time of 8:12.16. Union Boat Club's Catherine Infantino and Oak Ridge Rowing Association's Erin Burton rounded out the top four. In the second semifinal, Pocock Elite Sculling Team's Samantha Twardowski came home with the victory in an 8:14.34. Union Boat Club's Claudia Wagner finished second in an 8:17.03, followed by Amy Scott in an 8:21.20 and Penn AC's Lissa Krawczyk in an 8:41.64. The top two finishers from each semifinal moved on to Saturday's first final.
In the day's closest race, Union Boat Club's Aleks Zosuls won the repechage, or second-chance race, of the lightweight men's single sculls. Zosuls edged out Narragansett Boat Club's Ben Hutz and Ann Arbor Rowing Club's Brian Tryon for the victory. Zosuls finished with a time of 7:25.15, followed by Hutz and Tryon who officially recorded identical times of 7:25.51. In a photo finish, Hutz finished ahead of Tryon by less than 0.01 seconds. Undine Barge Club's Dan Urevick-Ackelsb finished fourth. Zosuls and Hutz join heat winners Evan Price of Penn AC and Tim Larson of Augusta Rowing Club in Saturday's first final.
In total, the trials will select 12 different crews to represent the United States at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships August 28-September 4 in Gifu, Japan. In addition to the three events already underway, the regatta includes racing in the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, lightweight women's quadruple sculls, men's pair, women's pair, lightweight men's pair, men's pair with coxswain, women's four, men's four with coxswain, and lightweight men's eight. The winners of each event will be named to the world championships squad if they meet the qualifying time standard. If a crew does not meet the time, it will have a final opportunity on Wednesday, July 20, to reach the standard and qualify for the world championships.
Finals, which are run in a best two-out-of-three format similar to an NBA playoff series, begin Saturday morning. The second set of finals will be held Sunday morning, with the third finals taking place on Monday morning if necessary.
For complete race results, please visit http://secure.powerhousetiming.com/powerhouse/webpages/raceResults.jsp?raceId=40