WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - The first round of finals are complete at the 2009 USRowing World Championship Trials at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Finals, held in a best two-out-of-three format, were contested in fifteen events to select the crews that will represent the United States at the 2009 World Rowing Championships August 23-30 in Poznan, Poland.
With the top three crews advancing to Friday's second round of finals, Potomac Boat Club's Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) won the women's single sculls race in a 7:47.61. Shumway, who stroked the women's quadruple sculls at the 2008 Olympic Games, crossed the line 2.9 seconds ahead of USTC's Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.). After posting the fastest time in Tuesday's heats, Sickler, who served as an Olympic alternate, clocked a 7:50.52. USTC teammate Jessica Reel (Ojai, Calif.), a gold medalist in last year's under 23 women's eight, edged out Potomac's Mae Joyce Gay for the third-place spot by just .026 seconds to advance. Reel clocked a 7:53.982, with Gay fourth in a 7:54.008.
In the men's double sculls, Craftsbury Sculling Center's Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) led a strong charge in the second half of the race to win the final. The Graves' crossed the 1,000-meter mark 1.2 seconds behind the USTC/Penn A.C. Rowing Association/GMS Rowing Center duo of Stephen Whelpley (Moquon, Wis.) and Michael Sivigny (Hudson, N.H.), but managed to make up the deficit to win by 0.6 seconds in a 6:25.57. Whelpley and Sivigny crossed second in a 6:26.18, followed by USTC's Pat Sullivan (St. Paul, Minn.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) in a 6:33.89. After winning yesterday's repechage, USTC's Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.) and Wes Piermarini (West Brookfield, Mass.) maintained the third-place position through the halfway point, but couldn't hold off teammates Sullivan and McEachern. Gault and Piermarini, both members of the 2008 Olympic squad, crossed fourth in a 6:36.78.
Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) of Bachelor's Barge Club won the first final of the men's lightweight single sculls, clocking a 7:04.10. USTC's Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.), who served as an Olympic alternate in 2008, crossed second in a 7:11.32, with two-time Olympian Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio) third in a 7:17.68. Vesper Boat Club's Chris Lambert (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished fourth in a 7:20.96.
Undine Barge Club's Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.) dominated in the lightweight women's single sculls final, leading wire to wire for a nearly 14-second win over Union Boat Club's Catherine Infantino (Boston, Mass.). Sarbanis clocked a 7:53.75, with Infantino second in an 8:07.39. Pocock Rowing Center's Carmel Zahran (Oakbrook, Ill.) held onto second place through the 1,000-meter mark, but fell to third in the second half to finish in an 8:13.38. Cecily Shiel (Brookline, Mass.) of Lake Union Crew clocked an 8:18.07 in fourth.
In the men's pair with coxswain, the USTC crew of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Troy Kepper (Tallahassee, Fla.) won the final by 2.8 seconds. McElhenney coxed the men's eight to bronze in Beijing, while Rummel was a member of the 2008 bronze-medal under 23 men's eight and Kepper won silver in the men's four with coxswain at the 2005 World Rowing Championships. Penn A.C. Rowing Association's Christopher DeFelice and Martin Reschke crossed second in a 7:09.74, followed by Penn A.C. teammates Joe Spencer and Joe Krajewski in a 7:16.67. Penn A.C.'s Austin Nichols and Josh Brown finished fourth in a 7:20.49.
Four members of the women's eight that won Olympic gold in Beijing paired off to compete in the women's pair event including Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.). USTC's Cafaro and Francia were down by 0.67 seconds at the 1,000-meter mark, but came back in the second half to win by 3.33 seconds in a 7:12.19. USTC teammates Lind and Shoop clocked a 7:15.52 in second.
Olympic alternate Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) of USTC dominated in the first final of the men's single sculls. Anderson won the race by over 15 seconds to finish with a time of 7:10.27. Potomac Boat Club's William Greer crossed second in a 7:25.61, followed by Ross Anderson of Penn A.C. Rowing Association with a 7:33.45.
The USTC women's four lineup of Elle Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine), Jamie Redman (Spokane, Wash.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.) won its first final in a 6:43.71. Logan was a Beijing gold-medalist in the women's eight, while Redman and Polk won gold in the 2008 under 23 women's eight and Lofgren won silver in the event at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and junior Championships. USTC teammates Megan Smith (Templeton, Calif.), Suzanne Van Fleet (West Chester, Pa.), Karen Colwell (Pawcatuck, Conn.) and Kelsie Chaudoin (Germantown, Tenn.) finished second in 6:49.61.
In the men's lightweight quadruple sculls, the Vesper Boat Club/GMS Rowing Center/Malta composite crew of Sam Cunningham (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Dan Scholtz (Springfield, Ore.), Jon Winter (New Haven, Conn.) and Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.) won in a 6:03.881. The GMS/Vesper crew of Matt Carey (West Simsbury, Conn.), David Smith (Seattle, Wash.), Matt Bokermann (Chicago, Ill.) and Richard Klein (Westport, Conn.) finished less than a second behind in a 6:04.84. Cunningham was a member of last year's under 23 national team, while Winter and Klein won silver in the event at the 2006 FISA Under 23 World Championships.
In the women's lightweight quadruple sculls, the USTC/Riverside Boat Club crew of Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho), Stephanie Sydlik, Lindsey Hochman (Seattle, Wash.) and Hillary Saeger (Dedham, Mass.) won in a 6:38.39. The Vesper/New York Athletic Club/Pocock Rowing Center crew of Jill Austin (Newport Beach, Calif.), Margaret Duggan (Bronxville, N.Y.), Michelle Hall (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) crossed second in a 6:42.36. Broughton, Duggan and Moore all raced in the event at the senior national team level.
The Riverside Boat Club duo of John Wainwright (Alameda, Calif.) and Alex Rothmeier (Edina, Minn.) won its final of the men's lightweight pair. Wainwright and Rothmeier clocked a 6:55.37, finishing over 25 seconds ahead of Tulsa Rowing Club's Micah Hartwell and Zack Kilburn. Hartwell and Kilburn crossed second in a 7:20.55. Wainwright stroked the lightweight men's four at the 2008 Under 23 World Championships, while Rothmeier raced in the event at last year's world championships.
In addition, four crews raced uncontested Thursday to earn national team berths. The USRowing Training Center men's pair of Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) clocked a 6:41.55 to earn a spot on the team. Banks was a member of the men's four in Beijing, while Cole won bronze in last year's Under 23 men's eight, In the men's lightweight double sculls, the USTC/Malta Boat Club duo of Andy Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) rowed down the course to earn its berth on the team. Quinn and Madden, both members of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls that raced at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships, clocked a 6:40.47. The USTC women's lightweight double sculls combination of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) rowed the course in a 7:24.51 to earn its berth. Trannel raced in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2006 World Championships, while Hedstrom is a two-time under-23 national team member.
The USTC lightweight men's eight raced uncontested to secure its national team berth. The crew of coxswain Kerry Quinn (So. Havertown, Pa.), Jimmy Sopko (Mathews, Va.), Andrew Diebold (North Wales, Pa.), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.), Ryan Fox, Kenny McMahon (Ladysmith, Wis.), Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.), Matt Kochem (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) and Skip Dise (Boston, Mass.) clocked a 5:55.43. Muffelman won gold in the event at last year's world championships.
Racing continues Friday at 8 a.m. with second finals. Third finals, if necessary will be held Saturday. For a complete schedule and race results, please visit www.powerhousetiming.com.