WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Nine boats are now one victory away from representing the United States at the 2010 World Rowing Championships after winning their first finals on Thursday at the 2010 World Championships Trials at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
Ursula Grobler (Pretoria, South Africa) moved two steps closer to qualifying in three events for the world championships by winning the first final in both the lightweight women's single sculls and lightweight women's quadruple sculls.
Having already qualified for the lightweight double sculls earlier this summer, Grobler pulled away in the final 1,000 meters of the lightweight single to win the first final in an 8:25.946. Undine Barge Club's Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.) led the race at the midway point, but Grobler rowed through Sarbanis in the third 500 to win going away. Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) finished second, with Sarbanis dropping to third. Grobler and Nichols will face off in tomorrow's second final.
Forty minutes later, Grobler and USRowing Training Center boatmates Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho), Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) and Victoria Burke (Redding, Conn.) won the lightweight quadruple sculls by nearly six seconds. The crew crossed the finish line in a 7:04.912 and will take on the second-place boat of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.), Hillary Saeger (Dedham, Mass.), Katherine Robinson (Everett, Wash.) and Lindsey Hochman (Seattle, Wash.) in tomorrow's second final. Broughton, who qualified with Grobler in the lightweight double sculls, is also attempting to qualify in multiple events.
In the men's single sculls, Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), a 2008 Olympian in the event, took control of the race in the first 1,000 meters and crossed the finish line in a 7:18.987. Craftsbury Sculling Center's Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) moved from fourth place to second over the final 1,000 meters. Graves held off USRowing Training Center-Oklahoma City's Martin Etem by 0.19 seconds to earn the other spot in the second final.
Cambridge Boat Clubs' Genevra Stone (Newton, Mass.) clocked an 8:03.989 to hold off Seattle Rowing Center's Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) by just under two seconds to win the first final of the women's single sculls. University of Michigan Women's Crew's Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) held a slight lead over Stone at the midway point of the race, but fell back to third at the finish line. Stone and Meyer will face off in tomorrow's second final.
USTC-OKC's Ryan Monaghan (Rochester, N.Y.) and Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) pulled away from teammates Grant and Ross James (DeKalb, Ill.) over the final 500 meters to win the first final of the men's pair. Monaghan and McEachern trailed the James brothers by just under two seconds at the midway point of the race before sprinting home in a 6:51.306 to win by more than eight seconds. The two crews will face off in tomorrow's second final.
Two-time national team member Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) pulled away from two-time Olympian Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio) in the final 500 meters to earn a victory in the first final of the lightweight men's single sculls. Urevick-Ackelsberg held a one-second lead at the 1,000-meter mark before pulling away for nearly a four-second victory, crossing the line in a 7:37.347.
The Malta BC/Penn AC duo of Mike Nucci (Blue Bell, Pa.) and Evan Tsourtsoulas (Kastoria, Greece) won the first final of the lightweight men's pair by just over two seconds. Nucci and Tsourtsoulas finished with a time of 7:20.461. Riverside Boat Club's Andrew Diebold (North Wales, Pa.) and Greg McKallagat (Andover, Mass.) finished second and will race in the second final.
In the men's pair with coxswain, the crew of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Steve Kasprzyk (Cinnaminson, N.J.) and Troy Kepper, (Tallahassee, Fla.) won by a boat length, crossing the line in a 7:36.16. USTC-OKC's Steve Young (Tampa, Fla.), Nareg Guregian (North Hills, Calif.) and Justin Stangel (Madison, Wis.) finished second, 2.6 second behind.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls quartet of Matt Carey (West Simsbury, Conn.), Todd Mickelson (Woodinville, Wash.), Peter Morelli (Cambridge, Mass.) and Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.) won the first final by nearly 10 seconds. The crew finished with a time of 6:34.402.
The 2010 World Championships Trials are being contested in a best two-out-of-three format with second finals taking place Friday morning. Third finals will be held Saturday morning, if necessary. The winning crews will represent the United States at the 2010 World Rowing Championships, October 31-November 7, in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand.
In addition to second finals in today's nine events, Friday's racing includes uncontested finals in the women's pair, women's four and lightweight men's eight.