WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Two women's crews earned spots on the 2006 National Team during Sunday's finals at the second 2006 National Selection Regatta (NSR) at the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Lake Mercer.
With the second NSR serving as a possible selection event for the women's pair, women's double sculls, and lightweight women's double sculls, Sunday's winners had the opportunity to be automatically selected to the 2006 National Team if they met the required time standard.
In the lightweight women's double sculls, the Penn AC tandem of Julie Nichols and Renee Hykel easily defeated Pocock Elite's Abelyn Broughton and Britton Nixon to win the race and meet the qualifying time standard. Nichols and Hykel, who won a silver medal in the event at the 2005 World Championships in Gifu, Japan, clocked a 7:09.35. Broughton and Nixon finished second with a time of 7:15.04, while Vesper Boat Club's Samantha Twardowski and Melissa Rice finished third. Following the race, Nichols and Hykel accepted their berth on the team. The duo will be looking to return to the medal stand at the 2006 FISA World Championships scheduled for August 20-27 in Eton, England.
The PTC/Pocock Elite Sculling tandem of Anna Mickelson and Megan Cooke won the women's pair by 1.71 seconds and also met its qualifying time standard for the 2006 World Championships in the process. The duo clocked a 7:17.28, while the PTC crew of Anna Goodale and Lindsay Shoop crossed the finish line in a 7:18.99. Mickelson and Cooke also accepted their berth to the national team and now will represent the U.S. in the women's pair this August. In the women's double sculls, the Princeton Training Center/Potomac Boat Club entry of Susan Francia and Brett Sickler clocked a 7:10.79 to finish 3.46 seconds ahead of the PTC duo of Liane Malcos and Lia Pernell. Francia and Sickler took a three-second lead at the 1,000-meter mark and held that advantage throughout the remainder of the race. The Saugatuck Rowing Center/PTC duo of Ala Piotrowski and Jennifer Kaido finished third in a 7:15.32, followed by PTC's Margot Shumway and Nicole Sylvester. Francia and Sickler just missed the time standard on Sunday in order to automatically qualify for this year's national team. They have until July 12 to make the standard. If they fail to make the time standard or choose not to accept the berth after meeting the standard, the women's double sculls would be opened up to all competitors at the 2006 World Championships Trials scheduled for July 31-August 5.
While the women's events served as selection races at this NSR, the remaining races served as an opportunity for crews to test their speed in preparation for upcoming selection events.
In the men's pair, the Princeton Training Center tandem of Josh Inman and Brett Newlin crossed the finish line in a 6:35.36, 2.61 seconds ahead of PTC teammates Sam Burns and Dan Beery. Inman and Newlin built a one-second lead in the first 1,000 meters and continued to inch away from the rest of the field over the second half of the race. PTC's Chris Liwski and Michael Blomquist finished third in a 6:38.45, followed by teammates Matt Deakin and Beau Hoopman.
Princeton Training Center's Wyatt Allen and Matt Hughes clocked a 6:28.53 to win the men's double sculls by less than one second over PTC teammates Sam Stitt and J. Sloan DuRoss. Allen and Hughes built a three-second lead at the midway point of the race before holding off a late challenge by Stitt and DuRoss. Gentle Giant Rowing Club's Ken Jurkowski and Dan Walsh finished third, followed by Josh Brown and Deaglan McEachern.
In the lightweight men's double sculls, the Union Boat Club/Riverside Boat Club tandem of Steve Tucker and Greg Ruckman clocked a 6:43.32 to finish 1.5 seconds ahead of the Penn AC/Potomac crew of Bjorn Larsen and Andrew Liverman. Tucker and Ruckman, who finished seventh in the event at the 2004 Olympic Games, built a 2.26-second lead during the first 1,000 meters and maintained a comfortable margin the rest of the way down the course. Undine Barge Club's Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg and Cody Lowry finished third in a 6:47.03.