In the three events contested at the Fall Speed Order, Sam Melvin and Maggie Fellows picked up the wins in the singles at the Fall Speed Order, while Camille VanderMeer and Kaitlyn Kynast took the women's pair in a tight finish ahead of Princeton Training Center teammate Etta Carpender and Green Racing Project's Holly Drapp.

Back to 2k-ing - M1x Sam Melvin

Melvin, who has raced the light men's single at Worlds the past two years, talked afterwards about making the switch back to 2k at the end of the season to race the speed order.

"Personally, I've never found it to be too much of an adjustment," he said. "I've raced so many 2ks in my life that it's a pretty seamless transition, even if you're not peaking for it or doing much prep work for it."

He said they kept the fall's training plan from the head racing season mostly unchanged in the run-up to the 2ks this weekend.

"It's a typical high performance plan," Melvin said of his schedule. "It's mostly low rate power stuff, but we did one practice of race piecing."

row2k asked if there was a moment this weekend where he felt that 2k burn, maybe for the first time since racing the A Final at Worlds back in August.

"Definitely [had] a little bit of that," Melvin admitted. "But, you have to push through it. I feel like that's more of a mental thing than anything, adjusting back to the 2ks.

Melvin racing the opening time trial on Friday

In the big picture of his racing this year and his goals next season, Melvin said, "I wasn't too concerned about the placing or the result.

"I just wanted to put down a good piece, because the more races you do the better, and the more experience you get. That was really what I was hoping for with this race, and I'm glad some good competition turned up."

Melvin also talked about how he races by feel than by going after a certain split.

"I never have a pace in mind because conditions affect things," he explained, and said that it is possible to misjudge how fast to take out the piece.

"That happens, in both directions," he said "I would rather go out too hard and just flame out, rather than feel like I didn't put in enough at the end of the race."

Kicking Off the 2028 Quad - W1x Maggie Fellows

Fellows won the women's single over her teammate from the 2022 Worlds quad, Savannah Brija. Teal Cohen, the only Paris Olympian in the field, took fourth behind Hannah Paynter, and Audrey Boersen, who raced the light single at Worlds this year, took fifth.

Fellows off the start in the A Final

The win for Fellows caps a year where she took second to Olympic sculler Kara Kohler in both the Olympic Trials and, most recently, in the Lotman Challenge at the Gold Cup Regatta.

"It was great to get a race down the course to kick off the quadrennial," said Fellows. "I was happy to see so many new faces at the speed order this weekend."

Looking at the journey ahead over the new quadrennial, Fellows said, "I’m still sorting out what I would like it to look like for the next few years."

'Small but Mighty Group' Powers Women's Pair

Women's pair winners VanderMeer and Kynast, who raced in the selection events leading up to the Paris Games but did not make the final team, took a good early step on the path to the LA Games here, together with their teammates.

"Having the recent training experience as part of the last Olympic cycle so close in our memory adds a bit of perspective and motivation as we work towards the next quad," said VanderMeer. "At the same time, it is refreshing to focus more on individual development during this early period.

"I feel lucky to be able to continue to build off of past experiences and work towards better performance with the help of all of the coaches and personnel at the Princeton Training Center."

VanderMeer and Kynast in the final

While only two women's pairs raced the Speed Order, the contest was tight, right down to a photo finish.

"To have two pairs finish within a second of each other, with a pretty high percentage, 4 years out is something everyone at the PTC can be proud of," said Kynast.

"We have a small but mighty group training here in Princeton, which includes two badass Olympic returners Teal Cohen and Michelle Sechser.

"With five sweep rowers to start off the quad we have made an emphasis on keeping the dynamic of the group as lighthearted and community-based as possible," Kynast added, "with a sprinkle of competitive, of course. We all came to the training center this early to get a jump on our base fitness and to have an established genuine camaraderie has made the transition back to the long haul fun."

"It’s exciting to have such a competitive fall speed order this year," said VanderMeer. "It is inspiring and empowering to be able to train and compete with teammates who push us to be better versions of ourselves as rowers and individuals."

VanderMeer and Kynast racing the time trial on Friday

"Everyone deserves their flowers," said Kynast. "Thank you to Etta Carpender and Holly Drapp for being dream teammates. To Anna Jensen for showing us how to be brave as she took on the single. To Teal Cohen and Michelle Sechser for always setting a high standard. And to the women who supported us and helped carve the path: Liz Trond, Lori Dauphiny, and Wendy Wilbur.

"We have some testing coming up and I’m sure it’ll be just as exciting of a finish."