OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Sixty-eight national titles are up for grabs at the 2009 USRowing Club National Championships on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Finals will be contested in 37 events Saturday and 31 events Sunday for junior, intermediate and senior classification rowing.
In the men's senior pair, Northwest USRowing Development Camp qualified three boats to the final. The B entry of Ambrose Puttmann and Robert Munn recorded the fastest time of the semifinals, clocking a 7:17.87 to win by 1.55 seconds. NWUSR Development Camp teammates Justin Hopkins and Jay Thompson crossed second in a 7:19.42, followed by Wisconsin Men's USRowing Development Camp's Will Porter and David Lucas in a 7:20.35. In the first semifinal, NWUSR Development Camp's Max Weaver and Casey Dobrowolski won in a 7:22.98, followed by Penn A.C. Rowing Association and Wisconsin.
Vesper Boat Club's Shannon Kaplan clocked the fastest time in the women's senior single sculls to advance directly to the final. Kaplan crossed over 20 seconds ahead of teammate Bryn Crawford to win easily in a 7:51.31. Crawford, who won the first semifinal of the women's intermediate sculls earlier in the day, finished second in an 8:11.58 to advance. University Barge Club's Gabby Cutler won the second semifinal in an 8:11.40, edging out Norwalk River Rowing Association's Stephanie Hedges by just 0.05 seconds.
Tempe Junior Crew dominated in the women's junior B quadruple sculls, winning the second of two heats by nearly 14 seconds. The crew of Casey Redman, Franny Wood, Katie Rosoff and Sophie Heywood clocked an 8:12.59 to advance to the final. Sammamish Rowing Association crossed second in an 8:26.53, followed by Maritime Rowing Club in an 8:40.73. Steel City Rowing Club easily won the first heat in an 8:12.61. Austin Rowing Club finished in an 8:45.23 for second place, with South Jersey Rowing Club in a 9:13.46 for third.
Later in the afternoon, Redman and Heywood paired up to win the first heat of the women's junior B double sculls. The duo recorded the fastest time in an 8:36.24 to qualify for the final.
Wisconsin Men's USRowing Development Camp dominated in the men's senior eights, winning both heats to advance two boats to the final. The A lineup of coxswain Anthony Altimari, Luke Juckett, Eric Hanxieden, Paul Williams, Steve Dudek, Zach Rodenbough, John Ludders, Matt Lojkovic and Will Porter clocked the fastest time in the second heat, holding off a strong Potomac Boat Club sprint to win in a 5:58.31. Potomac crossed second in a 6:00.32, followed by New York Athletic Club in a 6:02.92. Four members of the Wisconsin boat - Hanxieden, Williams, Lojkovic and Porter - will also race for medals in the men's intermediate and senior pair events, while Ludders will race in the final of the men's senior four with coxswain.
Over 1,300 athletes representing 82 clubs in 29 states and three countries are competing for national titles in the five-day championship event. Finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. For complete race results, visit www.racetrak.com.