WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Eight athletes are one race closer to competing at the 2013 World Rowing Championships, following Tuesday morning's races on Mercer Lake.
The Senior World Championships Trials continued in three events - the men's single sculls, the lightweight women's single sculls and the lightweight men's single sculls.
In the men's single repechage, three scullers competed for the top two spots to advance to Wednesday's final. Bantam Boat Club's Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished first with a time of 7:17.49. In a close race for second, GMS Rowing Center's Ricky Holak (Windham, N.H.) finished in 8:18.39.
Graves rowed in the third 2013 World Rowing Cup in the men's quadruple sculls, and in the 2009 and 2011 World Rowing Championships in the men's double sculls.
In the repechage of the lightweight women's single, Emily Gade (Denver, Colo.) of Seattle Rowing Center won with a time of 8:14.33 to advance to the final, along with Joan Buck (Cambridge, Mass.) of Riverside Boat Club in second.
In the lightweight men's single, eight scullers took to the course in two semifinals, with two advancing from each race. The decorated 2013 under 23 champion Andrew Campbell (New Canaan, Conn.) of Cambridge Boat Club posted the fastest time of the semis in a 7:19.61. Sam Cunningham (Pittsburgh, Penn.) of Malta Boat Club, Joshua Konieczny (Millbury, Ohio) of Craftsbury Sculling Center, winner of the second race, and Chris Lambert (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) of Malta Boat Club also advanced to Wednesday's final.
The remaining 11 events that have yet to be named to the 2013 United States National Team will begin racing at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday at Mercer Lake.
The events with the largest fields are the lightweight women's single and the lightweight men's pair, each with four contenders.
In the men's double sculls, Matt Miller (Springfield, Va.) and Willy Cowles (Farmington, Conn.) will take on Craftsbury Sculling Center's Benjamin Dann (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio). Miller and Cowles raced in the men's quad with Tom Graves and Sam Stitt at 2013 World Cup #3 in Lucerne, Switzerland, where they finished eighth.
In the lightweight men's double, Cambridge Boat Club's Nick Trojan (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) will row uncontested for their spot on the National Team.
In the final event Wednesday, USRowing Training Center - Princeton's Felice Mueller (Cleveland, Ohio), Tessa Gobbo (Chesterfield, N.H.), Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y.), and Emily Huelskamp (Sainte Genevieve, Mo.) will row uncontested.