ROWING: Racing Underway at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Rowing

Heats got underway Tuesday morning at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Rowing on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. Referred to as the non-qualified small boat trials, the regatta features racing in the men's single sculls, lightweight women's double sculls and lightweight men's double sculls. Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.) recorded the fastest time of the heats in the men's single sculls. The two-time national team member had no trouble winning the first of two heats, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:21.86. California Rowing Club's Patrick O'Hea (Culver City, Calif.) finished second in a 7:29.55, followed by Atlanta Rowing Club's Jordan Smith (Forestville, Calif.). In the second heat, James Dietz (Amherst, Mass.) clocked a 7:32.41 to defeat Bantam Boat Club's Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) by 5.36 seconds. Penn AC's Stephen Whelpley (Moquon, Wis.) finished third. Jurkowski and Dietz advanced to Thursday's first final, while the remaining scullers will race in Wednesday's repechage, or second-chance race. The USRowing Training Center duo of Jen Goldsack (Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) clocked the fastest time in the heats of the lightweight women's double sculls. The duo dominated the first heat, crossing the finish line more than 20 seconds ahead of Pocock Rowing Center's Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Liz Patterson (Davis, Calif.). Goldsack and Hykel finished with a time of 7:26.46. In what was a much closer race, Vesper Boat Club's Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Libby Peters (Utica, N.Y.) pulled away from two other Vesper crews in the final 300 meters to win the race. Nichols and Peters crossed the line in a 7:32.97, with teammates Carey Brezler (Waynesboro, Pa.) and Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.) coming home in a 7:36.11. Vesper's Rebecca Smith (Torrington, Conn.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) finished third in a 7:39.59. The two heat winners advanced directly to the first final, while the remaining crews will race in the repechages on Wednesday. In the lightweight men's double sculls, the California Rowing Club/Potomac Boat Club duo of Michael Aller (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Gavin Frase (Orinda, Calif.) recorded the fastest time of the morning. Racing in the first of three heats, Aller and Frase finished with a time of 6:43.44, 3.68 seconds ahead of GMS Rowing Center's Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.) and Jonathan Winter (New Haven, Conn.). The USRowing Training Center/Bachelors Barge Club duo of Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.), who raced in the event at the 2006 World Championships, won the second heat in a 6:56.97, while the Malta Boat Club/Penn AC combination of Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) finished second. USRowing Training Center's Andy Quinn and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) won the third heat in a 7:08.76, with Bantam Boat Club's Ben Hutz (Pittsburg, Pa.) and Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.) finishing second with a time of 7:10.80. The top two finishers in each heat advanced to Wednesday's semifinals, as did the top two finishers from Tuesday afternoon's repechage. Racing continues on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. with the remaining repechages and semifinals. Finals are held in a best two-out-of-three format, with the first set of finals taking place on Thursday beginning at 8:00 a.m. The second set of finals will take place starting at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, with third finals taking place on Saturday, if necessary. The start time for Saturday's racing is to be announced. For a complete schedule and results, please visit http://www.usrowing.org. These trials are referred to as the non-qualified small boat trials because the United States failed to qualify the boats for the 2008 Olympic Games at last year's world championships. The winners of the trials will have to compete at the 2008 Olympic Qualification Regatta June 15-18 in Poznan, Poland, in order to qualify to race in Beijing. Qualification spots at the regatta are available to the top three finishers in the men's single sculls, top two finishers in the lightweight men's double sculls and top two finishers in the lightweight women's double sculls. For a complete explanation of USRowing's selection procedures, please visit the following link on USRowing's Web site: http://www.usrowing.org/News_Media/2008OlympicGames/08olselexp.aspx. About USRowing USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing's Official Sponsor is Johnson and Johnson; its Official Suppliers are Hudson Boat Works, NIKE, Inc., and Rosetta Stone; its Official Patron is Concept2; its Official Electronics Outfitter is Nielsen Kellerman; its Official Timer is Powerhouse Timing; its Official Registrar is RegattaCentral; and its Preferred Printer is Sport Graphics Printing. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation. About Princeton National Rowing Association Located on the shores of Lake Mercer, the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center is home to the Princeton National Rowing Association, a world-class training site and racing venue-complete with state-of-the art rowing equipment, a seven-lane buoyed course and well-equipped workout facilities-that uniquely combines youth and masters programs with elite rowing and international racing. The center accommodates USRowing, as well as rowing clubs and schools. It is an official U.S. Olympic Training Site. 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Rowing Results May 13, 2008 Men's Single Sculls Heat One: 1. Unaffiliated (Jurkowski), 07:21.875; 2. California Rowing Club (O'Hea), 07:29.550; 3. Atlanta Rowing Club (Smith), 07:34.690. Heat Two: 1. New York Athletic Club (Dietz), 07:32.411; 2. Bantam Boat Club (Graves), 07:37.770; 3. Penn AC (Whelpley), 07:41.780. Lightweight Women's Double Sculls Heat One: 1. USRowing Training Center (Goldsack, Hykel), 07:26.466; 2. Pocock Rowing Center (Trannel, Patterson), 07:47.841; 3. Austin Boat Club/Union Boat Club (Culbertson, Wagner), 07:58.978. Heat Two: 1. Vesper Boat Club (Nichols, Peters), 07:32.965; 2. Vesper Boat Club (Brezler, Tripician), 07:36.111; 3. Vesper Boat Club (Smith, Moore), 07:39.591; 4. Riverside Composite (Rice, Moon), 07:47.683. Lightweight Men's Double Sculls Heat One: 1. California Rowing Club/Potomac Boat Club (Aller, Frase), 06:53.437; 2. GMS Rowing Center (de Regt, Winter), 06:57.123; 3. Riverside Boat Club/Augusta Rowing Club (Zechmann, Larson), 07:01.451. Heat Two: 1. USRowing Training Center/Undine Barge Club/Bachelor's Barge Club (Urevick-Ackelsberg, Lowry), 06:56.970; 2. Malta Boat Club /Penn AC (Larsen, Montgomery), 07:02.844; 3. Union Boat Club (Tucker, Zosuls), 07:10.129. Heat Three: 1. USRowing Training Center (Quinn, Madden), 07:08.761; 2. Bantam Boat Club (Hutz, Tryon), 07:10.795; 3. Vesper Boat Club (Scholz, Grzybowski), 07:14.889. Repechage One: 1. Union Boat Club (Tucker, Zosuls), 06:50.620; 2. Riverside Boat Club/Augusta Rowing Club (Zechmann, Larson), 06:53.636; 3. Vesper Boat Club (Scholz, Grzybowski), 06:58.825. -30-

Tags: Cody Lowry, Ken Jurkowski, Renee Hykel