WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - More than 150 rowers are scheduled to compete at the 2011 USRowing National Selection Regatta #1 and Speed Order April 22-23 at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
The event will feature racing in the women’s single sculls, men’s single sculls, lightweight women’s single sculls, lightweight men’s single sculls, men’s double sculls, lightweight men’s pair and men’s pair.
For the men’s and women’s single sculls, the regatta serves as the first step towards making the 2011 Senior National Team that will represent the United States at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia. The winner of each event will earn the right to compete at a world cup race of their choosing. If the NSR #1 winner finishes in the top four (or top half if there are fewer than eight entries), then he or she will be nominated to the team. For the remaining boat categories, the speed order serves as an opportunity for athletes to test their speed early in the season in preparation for future selection regattas and trials.
The men’s single sculls field has the most entries with 39 athletes scheduled to compete. Three of the scullers represented the U.S. at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, including Beijing Olympians Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.) and USRowing TC’s Wes Piermarini (West Brookfield, Mass.). Jurkowski finished 12th in the men’s single and Piermarini raced in the men’s quad, while USRowing TC’s Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished seventh in the double sculls in New Zealand. Nine-time national team member and two-time Olympian Jamie Koven (Green Village, N.J.) is scheduled to compete, as well as other past senior and under-23 national team members including Penn A.C.’s Chris DeFelice (Centereach, N.Y.) and Pocock Rowing Center’s Zach Ellison (Duluth, Minn.).
Thirty-three scullers have entered the women’s single sculls race including eight members of the 2010 National Team - USRowing TC’s Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.), Megan Walsh (Charlotte, N.C.), Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.), Sarah Trowbridge (Guilford, Conn.), Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio), Natalie Dell (Silver Spring, Md.), Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.) and lightweight quad silver-medalist Ursula Grobler (Pretoria, South Africa). Undine Barge Club’s Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.), who finished fourth in the lightweight single sculls at the 2009 World Rowing Championships and three-time under 23 national team member Helen Tompkins (Friendswood, Texas) of Seattle Rowing Club are scheduled to race, as is Cambridge Boat Club’s Gevvie Stone (Newton, Mass.).
In the men’s pair, 10 boats will race including seven from the USRowing Training Center - Oklahoma City. Eight members of the 2010 National Team have entered including Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Justin Stangel (Madison, Wis.), Jimmy Sopko (Mathews, Va.), Ryan Fox (Edgerton, Wis.), Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.), Ryan Monaghan (Pittsford, N.Y.), Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.) and Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.). Monaghan and McEachern represented the U.S. in the event at last year’s world championships. Peszek finished sixth in the men’s eight, while Sopko finished fifth in the lightweight men’s eight. Fox, LaCava and Fahden competed in the lightweight men’s four in New Zealand. Olympian Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), who won a gold medal in Athens, is also scheduled to compete with Penn A.C. teammate Josh Brown.
Twenty-six scullers have entered the lightweight men’s single sculls event, including eight members of the 2010 National Team. Among them are Beijing Olympian Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Bob Duff (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) and Kenny McMahon (Ladysmith, Wis.) of USTC - Oklahoma City, Undine Barge Club/Vesper Boat Club’s Dan Urevick-Ackelsburg (Philadelphia, Pa.), Potomac Boat Club’s Matt Carey (West Simsbury, Conn.) and GMS Rowing Center’s Jon Winter (New Haven, Conn.), Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.) and Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.). Urevick-Ackelsburg represented the U.S. in the event at last year’s world championships, while de Regt and Winter competed in the lightweight men’s double. Tryon and Carey finished sixth in the lightweight men’s quad. Two-time Olympian Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio) of Colorado Rowing Camp is also scheduled to race.
In the lightweight women’s single sculls, the University of California, Berkeley Women's Crew Alumni Crew entry of Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) returns from a sixth-place finish in the event at the 2010 World Rowing Championships. She will take on 15 scullers including University of Wisconsin’s Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) and GMS Rowing Center’s Victoria Burke (Redding, Conn.), both members of the 2010 silver medal lightweight women’s quad.
Five crews have entered the men’s double sculls. The field includes two 2010 U.S. National Team members - Malta Boat Club’s Mike Nucci (Blue Bell, Pa.) and New York Athletic Club’s Matt Kochem (Burnt Hills, N.Y.). Nucci finished ninth in the lightweight men’s pair, while Kochem was a member of the fifth-place lightweight men’s eight in New Zealand.
Racing begins Thursday at 7 a.m. with time trials in all seven events. Heats in the lightweight men’s single sculls, lightweight women’s single sculls, men’s single sculls, women’s single sculls and men’s pair will be held Thursday evening beginning at 5:40 p.m. Semifinals and finals in the speed order events are scheduled for Friday morning starting at 7 a.m., with finals in the single sculls events scheduled for Sunday starting at 7 a.m.
Race schedule and results will be available at www.usrowing.org.
USRowing is excited to announce the live stream broadcast of the men’s and women’s single sculls finals, beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 23. Now you can experience the thrill of racing from your home at http://rowing.teamusa.org/live. Following the event, the A and B finals of the men’s and women’s singles will be available to download at http://www.usrowing.org/Multimedia/VideoDownloads.aspx. Click the “Buy Now” link next to the race of your choice to be directed to payment and download information, powered by Amazon.
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