Although I would swear we were just at Youth Nationals, the summer international season is fully underway, as this week's mid-week trials saw eight crews ice spots on the USA 2014 World Championships team that will race in Amsterdam beginning August 24. In addition to the crews named to the team at the World Cup last weekend, we are up to 12 selected events as of this writing (although as you will read below, there is still some room for changes).
I caught up with a bunch of the winners to hear how their crews and training came together, what their plans were for the rest of the summer, and to find out what a good bass player can do for a bunch of single scullers.
(Note: I missed a couple crews that had either left the regatta site by the time I got back from photographing all the races, or were quarantined in the drug testing tent for the foreseeable future. We'll talk to you at Worlds!)
Men's Quad
From the "doubles – make that quads – are born, not made" department, it was a routine test row of a new boat right before the second NSR that gave birth to the newly minted US M4x out of Craftsbury.
"We had been waiting on a brand new Filippi quad, and when it finally came we went out to do a quick test row," stroke seat Ben Dann said after the race. "On our first row something about that boat just felt kind of right, like it was meant to happen."
"Our last practice (before NSR2) was a couple 500s, so we did one in the doubles, and did our last one in the quad," Peter Graves added. "So we just hopped in and burned a 500, and thought it went pretty good. It felt terrible but the times were fast!"
The group had been training together at Craftsbury all year, appearing at NSR events in various combinations, but finally chose to row the quad for trials.
"We were thinking about the single, the double, what combination would work, and nothing really made sense," Peter said.
"When we were doing selection, we were trying to make a really good double, and a lot of it came down to that every combination felt really good," John Graves added. "There wasn't one that was bad, and they were all going pretty good speed. So at that point we thought why not just see what we can do (in a quad)? There's a lot of natural compatibility in the boat, and we were pleasantly surprised at how it took off."
Three of the four have been training together for a couple years, and Peter Graves joined up this year to make it a foursome. "You know, last year we had Ben on lead vocals, John on percussion, me on guitar, and we needed a bass player," said Stephen "Hap" Whelpley. "Peter joined us this year, so we got four people and we had a four-person boat."
"Slappin' the bass, mon, slappin' the bass," Peter said with a laugh. "Yeah, we had four heavyweight guys - and I really appreciate these guys taking me on."
Despite the camaraderie and natural boat chemistry, the crew did not take the one-and-done final quad final lightly. "We had a lot of energy coming into the race," Whelpley said. "You know, mostly positive energy, but some jittery as well. And it was a two boat race, which kind of adds another element of pressure to it."
"We felt like we were going fast coming into (the trials), but you just never know who is out there," Peter Graves said. "We had a really solid first 1K and we were able to establish ourselves, and then make sure we got across to get it done."
Light Men's Pair
The winning light men's pair of and Michael Wales and Tyler Nase are actually becoming fairly seasoned in the boat, having won silver at the Lucerne World Cup last summer, and now spending another summer in the boat together. The extra year together seems to be taking hold, as the crew posted a 10-second win at 94% of gold standard speed.
"I'd say that this year we are a lot stronger fitness wise; we have a whole year of training center training under our belts, and last year we were both just fresh out of college," Nase said after the race. "We had a really good race. We were really keen on having a good start and a good first thousand, and I think we executed that really well."
The light pair has become something of a farm system for the Olympic-class light men's four in many countries, while for others it serves as a "vacation" from rowing the four, with the top two lightweights from the country rowing in the pair; the Swiss pair is a perfect example, and Wales and Nase have already raced and bested them.
"Last year at the Lucerne World Cup we actually beat the Swiss pair that had just won the European championships, so we're really excited to be in this event," Nase said. "We're familiar with the competition, so we're just really excited to train really hard and go over and see what we can do."
Light Women's Quad
A fully composite crew representing four different clubs won the light women's quad, with one constant from the past several years as Hillary Saeger won her fifth trials in the last six years in the event to be named to her fifth US team since 2009 (she did not race the event in 2010). Joined by Helen Tompkins, Sarah Giancola, and Mary Jones, the crew won by a fair patch of open water, so wasn't really tested this week, but still posted decent times that may improve with a few weeks and a bit more pressure.
"I feel like we're still really new to rowing in this lineup in this boat, but I think we executed it well and there's a lot more in there," Saeger said after the race. "Our percentage was really good today, and we have a lot of power, so I think if we just pull that power together in unison, I think we can go really fast.
"We click well together. Another teammate (Tompkins) was in the same boat with me last year, the other two have been around for a little bit, so I have rowed with Mary and Sarah before also.
Saeger clearly has a fondness for the quad that comes out of these same elements she is hoping they can improve and rely upon. "I love rowing with my teammates and just pulling it together, with everyone coming together in a race and just hammering it down the line."
Light Men's Eight
The crew out of the Oklahoma City Training Center has rowed pretty much every possible combination together over the past year, having rowed in a swirl of lineups of pairs and fours all year long, and finally starting to row the eight back in April. It showed out on the course, as the crew, made up of Stephen Young, Kyle Traub, Andrew Hakanson, Josh Getz, Matthew O'Leary, Joseph Hanlon, Dan Kirrane, Peter Gibson, and Andrew Weiland, is one of the more put-together looking light men's eights seen at trials recently.
After racing (and winning) the eight at Elite Nationals, the crew heads to Henley to race two fours in the Visitor's Cup (bow four vs. stern four) and the eight in the Ladies Plate at Henley, where they hope to get more racing experience in before showing up in Amsterdam.
"Worlds is six-boat racing, and I think the idea behind Henley is get as much racing experience as we can," Weiland said. "We're going over to get used to racing internationally, and to racing other fast crews. In the Ladies' Plate we'll definitely see some fast crews racing heavyweight."
At Worlds, the light eight can be a tricky event to handicap, as few teams race the event all year, you never know who is going to show up, and sometimes low entry numbers can lead to a one-shot final – albeit with a race for lanes at the beginning of the regatta, with the caveat that not all crews show their hands in those early races.
"We're hoping for heats and that a lot of teams will send boats, since it is in Amsterdam , which is easy to get to from most of Europe," Traub said. As for the team to beat, "outside the perennial powerhouses in lightweight rowing, the best guess is who knows," Weiland added.
Light Women's Single
The light women's single is without question the most conditional result of the weekend, as there is the potential that the light women's double ends up going to a trial in early August. To explain briefly, the double of Devery Karz and Michelle Sechser won the NSR last month in a bit of an upset, and had they placed in the top four at the World Cup in France last weekend, would have been the US LW2x. They did not make the final, however, and now have the option to go to the Lucerne World Cup to see if they can place top four there. Failing that, a trial will be held in the first week of August, with the winner of the trial being named to the team without conditions.
The crew that Karz and Sechser upset was made up of 2013 World silver medalists Kate Bertko and Kristin Hedstrom, who finished 1-2 in the single at these trials. If the event goes to trials, Bertko and Hedstrom will likely be back in a double of some kind; if it does not, Bertko can accept her spot as the single sculler.
Whew; given all the potential uncertainty, Bertko made the best of her return to the single, using it as a training and tune-up tool no matter which boat she ends up rowing this summer.
"I enjoy training and racing the single," she said. "It helps me build strength and troubleshoot technical components of my stroke; and it also gives me a greater appreciation of the double! I am lucky to have great teammates at the California Rowing Club to race in preparation for trials."
Light Men's Single
Andrew Campbell actually won two trials this week; the U23 LM1x and the senior LM1x. Campbell did the same thing last year, but under much different conditions; how is this for a grueling summer: trials for U23 1x spot in late June; race (and win) the U23 Championship in late July; trials for the senior 1x spot the very next week in early August; World Championships in Korea at end of August. Oof; so despite having to race every day, Campbell enjoyed the week.
"It was actually really nice to be able to do these trials together," he said. "Normally I have the Senior Trials a week after the Under 23 Worlds, which is a big stress coming back from the Worlds and having to ramp up again for the trials right away. Being able to knock them out early in the summer like this sets me up for a better periodization of my training cycle. So I can go to Under 23s, then I have a month until the Championships in the Seniors, which works out really well.
"Last year was especially tough; with college season with Harvard, the Sprints and then IRAs, a trial for the Under 23, then the Under 23 Worlds and then another hard trial for the Seniors a week afterwards, it was just a lot of racing. Whereas this year I didn't have to race Nick Trojan in the Under 23s, which takes a lot of pressure off me because he's such a strong sculler always, and getting to do the trials together should give me more time so I won't feel as burnt out at the Senior Worlds as I did last year."
Campbell is the defending champion in the U23 light single, and although he said he is trying very hard to defend the title, his priority this summer is on Senior Worlds.
"Last year my focus was definitely the Under 23s and trying to win the title," he said. "This year my attention will be shifted more towards the Senior Worlds. I'll be looking to have a very good performance and of course defend the title Under 23s, but my absolute peak will definitely be for the Seniors. For the U23s, there is a taper for it, but you train with the expectation that your absolute fastest will be the World Championship."
Men's Coxed Pair, Light Men's Quad
Also winning trials to earn a spot on the 2014 US team:
Men's coxed pair: Taylor , Henry Hoffstot , and coxswain Jack Carlson
Men's light quad: Andrew Neils, Peter Schmidt, Jacob Georgeson, and Kyle Lafferty
Rest of US Team So Far
In addition to the trials winners above, the following crews have earned spots on the 2014 team, both by virtue of their finishes at the World Cup in France last week:
Women's Double: Meghan O'Leary and Ellen Tomek (had to finish top four)
Light Men's Double: Josh Konieczny and Austin Meyer (had to finish top six)
Women's Single: Gevvie Stone, had to finish top six
Women's pair: Megan Kalmoe and Kerry Simmonds have satisfied the qualification criteria, but will not decide until later if they accept the spot
The next trials take place August 3-6, while all the camp boats (men's four, men's eight, women's four, women's quad, women's eight, light men's four) are to be selected by July 27.
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